Carotid and lower extremity arterial disease in acute myocardial infarction.

The authors present the results of noninvasive ultrasound examinations of the carotid and the arteries of the lower extremities in 111 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Carotid arterial disease was detected in 45 (41%). In 85% it was asymptomatic, haemodynamically significant lesions of the internal carotid artery were asymptomatic in more than half of the patients. Peripheral arterial disease was found in 43 patients (39%); it was bilateral in three fourths of them. Asymptomatic findings were present in 42%. Associated atherosclerotic lesions in both vascular locations were demonstrated in 16 patients (14%). On the average, patients with vascular changes had 3 risk factors and more. The most frequent risk factor was hypercholesterolaemia (79%) which was, at the same time, the most pronounced risk factor in patients with as well as without vascular changes. On the whole, peripheral vascular changes were found in 71 patients (64%) with acute myocardial infarction.