Increased carotid intima-media thickness in patients with ischaemic stroke is associated with systemic endothelial dysfunction and preclinical occlusive vascular disease

Background: Increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) reflects early atherosclerosis of supra-aortic arteries and may predict myocardial infarction and stroke. Decreased flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery and a pathologically low ankle brachial index (ABI) have been shown to be sensitive surrogate markers of systemic endothelial dysfunction and preclinical occlusive vascular disease. We aimed to evaluate whether increased levels of IMT in patients with recent ischaemic cerebral events of different subtypes is associated with systemic atherosclerosis as evaluated with FMD and ABI. Methods: W…