BACKGROUND: Comorbidity of coronary artery stenosis (CoAS) and cerebral artery stenosis (CeAS) is relatively common, but little is known about their angiographic correlation and synergistic effect.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 66 patients with CoAS were divided into 2 groups: 30 patients with mild CoAS in group A and 36 patients with severe CoAS in group B. Patients were subdivided further into 4 groups: 20 patients with multiple CeAS in group B1, 16 patients with non-multiple CeAS in group B2, 22 patients with multiple CeAS in group A1, and 8 patients with non-multiple CeAS in group A2. Then, the morbidity rates for myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke before angiography were analyzed.

RESULTS: Overall, the incidence and extent of CoAS were positively related to those of CeAS (p=0.004 and p=0.008, respectively). After stratification, the incidences of stenotic vessels in the intracranial arteries (EA) and carotid artery system (CAS) in group B were significantly higher than those in group A (p=0.011 and p=0.007, respectively). Additionally, the morbidity rates for ischemic stroke in groups B1 and A1 showed a weak trend toward a significant difference (p=0.060).

CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates, for the first time, that severe CoAS might be a predictive marker for stenotic vessels of the EA and CAS and for severe CeAS. Furthermore, this study is the first to report that the synergistic effect of CoAS and CeAS might increase the risk of ischemic stroke, which must be confirmed in a large-scale prospective study.

Keywords: Brain Ischemia - diagnosis, Coronary Angiography, Coronary Stenosis - diagnosis