There are chances that hypoperfusion is a causal to the risk of a stroke in atherosclerotic vertebrobasilar disease. A cohort study was made to confirm this hypothesis using the observational VERiTAS method, and that is Vertebrobasilar Flow Evaluation and Risk of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke. The constancy of hemodynamic status was scrutinized and analyzed in comparison with stroke risk in participants.
The 72 patients involved had indicative 50% atherosclerotic stenosis or blocking in the basilar and vertebral arteries. A magnetic resonance angiography was used to determine the vertebrobasilar flow’s quantity, and those patients had either low or normal flow. They were treated and followed up for a vertebrobasilar stroke. 54% of the patients who had a low baseline flow showed progress to normal flow by the end of the study. 7% of those who had normal flow changed to low flow. Simultaneously, the average blood pressure showed no difference between patients with the low and regular flow. The status of hemodynamics continued to be an essential interpreter of stroke vulnerability (hazard ratio, 10.3).
In conclusion, patients with the atherosclerotic vertebrobasilar disease are inclined to either improve or withdraw in hemodynamics. And therefore, the flow is a crucial factor that can be used as a predictive indicator for future stroke risk.
Ref: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.120.029909
