Relationship between Atherosclerosis Risk Factors and Carotid Artery Stenosis in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Background: Evaluation of the risk factors of atherosclerosis and carotid artery stenosis have been subjected to several investigations. The present study was conducted to determine the degree of carotid artery stenosis and investigate the relationship between atherosclerosis risk factors and coronary artery involvement in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 450 CABG candidate patients who visited Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Qom. The patients were divided into 4 groups according to the degree of carotid artery stenosis and were examined in terms of risk factors for atherosclerosis and coronary artery involvement. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results: In total, about 18% of the patients had carotid artery stenosis, of them 13.6% had stenosis of less than 50%, 3.2% had stenosis of 50%–70%, and 1.2% had stenosis of more than 70%. Age, history of hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia, and previous history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) showed a significant relationship with carotid artery stenosis. However, gender, BMI, diabetes, history of smoking, history of angiography and lipid profile of the patients did not show a significant relationship. Also, the incidence of CVA after CABG was 1.2%. Conclusion: The present study showed that old age, HTN, hyperlipidemia, and history of CVA are directly related to the severity of carotid artery stenosis.