Plaque Morphology in Adult Stroke Patients in North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability and the second most common cause of death worldwide. It may however be preventable if pre-disposing factors such as carotid plaques are detected early and treated. Doppler Ultrasonography (USS) is excellent at detecting carotid plaques. This study was aimed at determining the frequency and the morphology of carotid plaques in adult stroke patients using Doppler USS. Methodology: This was a prospective study. Eighty-three adult ischaemic stroke patients at a tertiary hospital in North-Central Nigeria were included over a period of one year. For each patient, both carotid arteries were examined using Doppler ultrasonography and the findings documented. Results: Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 and presented in tables and charts as appropriate. A total of 83 patients were evaluated with slight male predominance and a mean age of 60 years. Hypertension was the most common risk factor. Fifty-nine patients (71.1%) had abnormal carotid Doppler findings out of which 66.1%had carotid plaques with 6.8% having critical stenosis of >70%. Conclusion: Doppler ultrasonography is a very important non-invasive and readily available tool for depicting the morphology of carotid plaques. Screening carotid arteries of asymptomatic patients with known cerebrovascular risk factors will be beneficial towards primary stroke prevention.