J Stroke.  2016 Sep;18(3):321-327. 10.5853/jos.2016.00164.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysms in Ischemic Stroke Patients

• Kim JH
• Suh SH
• Chung J
• Oh YJ
• Ahn SJ
• Lee KY

• KMID: 2359509
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5853/jos.2016.00164

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The prevalence of unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCAs) in ischemic stroke patients is not clearly defined. This study aimed to measure the prevalence and characteristics of UCAs in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and to compare our findings with those of the general population. In addition, we investigated the factors associated with cerebral aneurysms in AIS patients.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the brain magnetic resonance angiography images of 955 patients with AIS and 2,118 controls who had received a brain magnetic resonance angiography as part of a health check-up. We investigated the prevalence, size, location, and risk factors of the subjects in the context of UCAs.
RESULTS
UCAs were found in 74 patients with AIS (7.7%) and in 79 who received a health check-up (3.7%). The prevalence of UCAs was significantly higher in the AIS group than in the health check-up group (odds ratio 2.17, 95% confidence interval 1.56-3.01). The mean aneurysm diameter was larger in the AIS group than in the health check-up group (3.75 mm vs. 3.02 mm, P=0.009). UCAs were primarily located in the internal carotid artery in both groups, and aneurysms in the middle cerebral artery were particularly common in the AIS group. According to multivariate analysis, hypertension alone was associated with an increased prevalence of UCAs in stroke patients.
CONCLUSIONS
This study identified a higher prevalence and larger size of UCAs in AIS patients than in the general population. Hypertension was an independent risk factor of UCA in AIS.

Keyword

Cerebral aneurysm; Ischemic stroke; Prevalence; Magnetic resonance angiography

MeSH Terms

Aneurysm
Brachyura
Brain
Carotid Artery, Internal
Humans
Hypertension
Intracranial Aneurysm*
Magnetic Resonance Angiography
Middle Cerebral Artery
Multivariate Analysis
Prevalence*
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Stroke*