the role of carotid artery screening before coronary artery bypass graft surgery

background: the incidence of stroke is 2.1-5.2% in bypass surgery patients with a mortality of 0-38%. this study was designed to evaluate the incidence of significant carotid artery stenosis and its related risk factors in candidates for coronary artery bypass graft (cabg) surgery. methods: 1045 consecutive candidates for cabg underwent carotid artery doppler examination in a prospective study. the relation of age, sex, smoking and diabetes as well as lipid profile and carotid stenosis was evaluated. . results: in 1045 cabg candidates with the mean age of 60 years, the prevalence of significant carotid stenosis (>60%) was 6.9%. in the patients who aged 65 years and older, significant stenosis was12.5%. age of 50 years and above, female gender, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus are independent risk factors for significant carotid stenosis. conclusion: significant carotid stenosis has an earlier beginning in our study. cost effectiveness studies are recommended for revising the previous screening protocols.