Age and composite end-point events in medium follow-up of patients with carotid artery total occlusion using drug therapy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The outcome of carotid artery total occlusion (CATO) is unclear. The aim of this study is to report the medium incidence of composite end-point events and risk factors (especially age), in patients with CATO, treated medically.

METHODS: This was a single center retrospective study. Composite end-point events included death, ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, hemorrhagic stroke, myocardial infarction, or angina. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze risk factors of composite end-point events.

RESULTS: A total of 94 patients with CATO were included in the study. The mean follow-up duration was 30 ± 16 months. There were 16 cases who experienced composite end-point events (17.0%); among them, there were 15 cases of death (16.0%), 8 cases of ischemic stroke (7 cases of fatal stroke and 1 case of non-fatal stroke) (8.5%), and 1 case of angina pectoris (1%) (the patient later developed ischemic stroke). With increased age, the incidence of composite end-point events was significantly increased (p = 0.002). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only age was a risk factor (OR = 3.051 (1.351-6.890), p = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of composite end-point events in patients with CATO was as high as 17.0% at approximately 3 years after drug therapy alone. For every 10 years of age increase, the risk increase of composite end-point events doubles.