[Venous digital subtraction angiography in the diagnosis of arteriosclerotic diseases of the supra-aortic extracranial vessels].

In addition to non-invasive sonographic examinations the slightly invasive transvenous DSA has been shown to be useful in outpatients to demonstrate acceptable images of the supraaortic extracranial vessels. In preselected patients (n = 140) different atherosclerotic lesions of the examined angiographic region could be diagnosed by DSA. Images of diagnostic quality including the carotid bifurcation could be found in 88% using three examination-sequences in different standardized projections; only 43% of cases could be diagnosed following two sequences. Compared with conventional angiography DSA showed an identical imaging of the carotid bifurcation in 22 of 25 cases. Using an additional o.m. projection of the skull base (n = 80) internal carotid arteries could be analyzed in all cases, vertebral arteries in 80% and the basilar artery in 82%.