BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis as a universal pathological process leads to simultaneous damage to blood vessels of the heart and brain, although the correlation extent of the damage is not clear.
PURPOSE To determine the clinical and ultrasound characteristics of atherosclerotic lesion of extracranial cerebral arteries (ECA) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), with different stenosis degrees of the coronary arteries.
METHODS Two groups: 1st (53 pers., ages 75,28±6,9yo) - patients with CAD and hemodynamically significant stenosis of the coronary artery (HSSCA) and 2nd (48 pers., ages 78±7,4yo) - patients with CAD and without HSSCA were formed. Neurological, neuropsychological examination (MMSE), selective coronary angiography, ultrasound dopplerography and duplex scanning of ECA were performed.
RESULTS Cognitive impairment was detected in 28 (52,8%) patients in the 1-group, and in only 2 patients (4,2%) in the 2-group. Patients in the 1-group had significantly more severe (50-69%), critical (70-99%) stenoses and occlusions of ECA (22,6% versus 4,2% in the 2-group, p<0,05). Whereas in the 2-group small stenoses were predominant (0-29%). The atherosclerotic lesions of the right common carotid artery (p<0,01), left common carotid artery (p<0,001), right internal carotid artery (p<0,05) were prevailed in patients with HSSCA. Stenoses of type 1 were significantly more frequently detected in the 1-group than in the 2-group (20,8% versus 2,1%, p<0,05). "Asymptomatic" stenosis type-1 was established in 0,5% of patients.
CONCLUSIONS Factors of high risk of acute cerebral ischemic events in patients with CAD are severe, critical stenoses and occlusions of ECA, as well as stenoses of the structure type-1.

CAN CORONARY ANGIOGRAPHY PREDICT CLINICAL AND ULTRASOUND CHARACTERISTICS OF EXTRACRANIAL ATHEROSCLEROSIS?