E X T R A Cerebrovasc Dis Extra 2016;6:129–139 DOI: 10.1159/000452426 Received: July 22, 2016 Accepted after revision: October 4, 2016 Published online: November 16, 2016 © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S Karger AG, Basel www.karger.com/cee This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://www.karger.com/Services/OpenAccessLicense) Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any distribution of modified material requires written permission Original Paper Risk Factors for Incident Carotid Artery Revascularization among Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study Parveen K Garg a Willam J.H Koh b Joseph A Delaney b Ethan A Halm c Calvin H Hirsch d William T Longstreth Jr e, f Kenneth J Mukamal g Anna Kucharska-Newton h Joseph F Polak i Lesley Curtis j a Division of Cardiology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA , b Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA , c Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX , d Department of Medicine, University of California in Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA , Departments of e Neurology and f Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA , g Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA , h Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC , i Department of Radiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA , j Department of Medicine, Duke Cardiovascular Research Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC , USA Keywords Cardiovascular risk factors · Carotid duplex · Carotid endarterectomy · Carotid artery disease · Gender Parveen K Garg, MD, MPH Division of Cardiology, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, 1510 San Pablo St., Suite 322 Los Angeles, CA 90033 (USA) E-Mail parveeng @ med.usc.edu Downloaded by: University of Calgary 136.159.235.223 - 2/21/2017 8:17:47 AM Abstract Background: Population-based risk factors for carotid artery revascularization are not known We investigated the association between demographic and clinical characteristics and incident carotid artery revascularization in a cohort of older adults Methods: Among Cardiovascular Health Study participants, a population-based cohort of 5,888 adults aged 65 years or older enrolled in two waves (1989–1990 and 1992–1993), 5,107 participants without a prior history of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or cerebrovascular disease had a carotid ultrasound at baseline and were included in these analyses Cox proportional hazards multivariable analysis was used to determine independent risk factors for incident carotid artery revascularization Results: Over a mean follow-up of 13.5 years, 141 participants underwent carotid artery revascularization, 97% were CEA Baseline degree of stenosis and incident ischemic cerebral events occurring during follow-up were the strongest predictors of incident revascularization After adjustment for these, factors independently associated with an increased risk of incident revascularization were: hypertension (HR 1.53; 95% CI: 1.05–2.23), peripheral arterial disease E X T R A 130 Cerebrovasc Dis Extra 2016;6:129–139 DOI: 10.1159/000452426 © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S Karger AG, Basel www.karger.com/cee Garg et al.: Risk Factors for Incident Carotid Artery Revascularization among Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study (HR 2.57; 95% CI: 1.34–4.93), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HR 1.23 per standard deviation [SD] increment [35.4 mg/dL]; 95% CI: 1.04–1.46) Factors independently associated with a lower risk of incident revascularization were: female gender (HR 0.51; 95% CI: 0.34–0.77) and older age (HR 0.69 per SD increment [5.5 years]; 95% CI: 0.56–0.86) Conclusions: Even after accounting for carotid stenosis and incident cerebral ischemic events, carotid revascularization is related to age, gender, and cardiovascular risk factors Further study of these demographic disparities and the role of risk factor control is warranted © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S Karger AG, Basel Introduction Severity of carotid artery stenosis in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients is a major risk factor for transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and stroke [1, 2] While carotid artery revascularization has been shown to be an effective stroke reduction strategy in selected symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, it incurs substantial health-care costs and can result in significant perioperative morbidity and mortality [3–8] More than 100,000 revascularization procedures are performed annually in the United States, and more than 80% of individuals are asymptomatic at time of intervention [9] US hospital costs of carotid artery revascularization procedures were estimated at USD 7,000–12,000 for uncomplicated procedures but increased to over USD 35,000 in the setting of severe comorbidities and complications [8] We know of no studies evaluating demographic and clinical characteristics associated with incident carotid artery revascularization in a population-based cohort Prior studies have focused on carotid artery disease progression by ultrasound as the outcome and have been limited by the use of select patient populations with known or suspected carotid artery disease at baseline Disease progression, however, is only one factor influencing the need for revascularization, and the prevalence of at least moderate asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the population is low, ranging from