Causes and Severity of Ischemic Stroke in Patients With Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis

Abstract

Observational studies and clinical trials generally have made little attempt to distinguish between stroke outcomes according to cause,^1,2 but this pattern is changing.^3-5 From the source documents of the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET), all ischemic stroke outcomes were identified by cause (large artery, lacunar, and cardioembolic). The working hypothesis was that a stenosing arterial lesion should not be assumed to be the cause of all subsequent strokes originating from this site. In the age group at risk of arteriosclerotic stenosis, concomitant disease develops in other sites, including the heart and intracranial small arteries.