Borderline values of cardio-ankle vascular index in patients with acute stroke: clinical significance

Aim. To study the associations of borderline CAVI values with clinical medical history and laboratory-instrumental data in patients with stroke. Materials and Methods. A total of 284 stroke patients aged 63.1±7.2 years (157 men and 127 women) were admitted to the Department of Neurology of Cardiology Clinic. Three groups of patients were identified: patients in group 1 (n=81) had a value of CAVI 9.0. All patients underwent standard neurological examination, brain MSCT, color duplex scanning (CDS) of brachiocephalic arteries (BCA), echocardiography (echocardiogram), and laboratory tests (lipidogram, blood chemistry). Results. In patients with stroke, normal values of CAVI were identified in 28.5% of cases; borderline values of CAVI were found in 17.6% of cases; and pathological CAVI values were observed in 53.9% of cases. Prevalence of stroke risk factors in stroke patients with borderline values of CAVI was intermediate. Patients with borderline and abnormal values of CAVI more frequently had such factors as the absence of higher education diploma, the presence of angina, heart failure, peripheral atherosclerosis, thickening of intima-media complex, BCA stenosis, 30%-49% BCA stenosis, decrease in ejection fraction, and increase in total cholesterol. Conclusion. Identification of patients with borderline values of CAVI is reasonable for dynamic follow-up of medical-preventive measures.