[The fate of patients with carotid stenosis. Comparative study, based on the literature, of their natural history and evolution under medical treatment or following endarterectomy].

The aim of therapy of carotid artery stenosis is to reduce the number of cerebral ischemic accident complications, but marked uncertainty exists at the present time as to the spontaneous course of these stenotic lesions and the efficacy of the different treatments proposed. After a transient ischemic accident (TIA) there is a 37% risk of a vascular accident (CVA) of a more definite type occurring within 5 years but only 1/4 of these patients die of cerebral complications, death in half of the cases being of coronary origin. Very rapid treatment with anticoagulants after TIA slightly diminishes the number of established cerebral ischemic accidents, but increases the risk of cerebral hemorrhage. Among the anti-aggregant agents, only Aspirin at high dosage (1 to 1.3 g/24 h) appears to be effective in preventing relapses of TIA and/or of CVA and/or on mortality which results from it. Carotid endarterectomy after TIA does not alter long-term survival, dependent on the increased cardiac mortality, but appears to reduce markedly the long-term recurrence rate of TIA and/or CVA. Globally, however, benefits of surgical treatment can be obtained only if post-operative cerebral mortality and morbidity are extremely low, conditions obtained in highly specialized centers only. Spontaneous course of angiographically detected asymptomatic stenosis shows, for a mean 4-year survival, a relatively low level of TIA (3,3 to 19%) and of CVA (0 to 12%) whatever the anatomic type of the stenosis. Prophylactic endarterectomy in practised hands has a low operative mortality (0 to 2%), a limited perioperative cerebral morbidity (1.3 to 4.5%) and a satisfactory later relapse rate of CVA (less than 5% at 4 years). These findings indicate comparable courses for spontaneous and treated cases globally, as well as with respect to cardiac mortality. In the absence of randomized trials it is a controversial point as to whether carotid surgery is superior to a spontaneous course in cases of asymptomatic stenosis.