Angiographic comparison of carotid arteries in unilateral cerebral ischemia.

We reviewed bilateral carotid angiograms of 74 patients with strictly unilateral carotid ischemic symptoms to evaluate asymptomatic atherosclerosis. Symptomatic arteries showed more stenosis than the asymptomatic counterparts, especially in patients with multiple TIAs, amaurosis fugax, or TIAs lasting less than 60 minutes. However, the frequency or degree of ulceration did not differ, and the proportion of stenotic lesions that appeared ulcerated was nearly equal on the symptomatic and asymptomatic sides.