Anatomical Anomalies of Carotid-Vertebral Arteries in Patients with Dizziness and Impaired Hearing

Abstract

Currently, Doppler ultrasound examinations are of particular importance, including con- tinuous wave Doppler and color-coded pulsed wave Doppler. Excellent images are obtained using contrast computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic reso- nance angiography (MRA), which give greater understanding of blood flow in the cranial and intracranial vessels under normal conditions and in pathological situations caused by both anatomical anomalies and acquired abnormalities. Our previous studies, concerning the analysis of the frequency and types of anatomical anomalies of the cranial arteries, i.e. vertebral and carotid arteries, in patients with dizziness and impaired hearing, demonstrated that hypoplasia of the right vertebral artery was the most common anatomical anomaly occurring in 58.7% of cases, of which 51.7% were women and 6.9% men; hypoplasia of the left vertebral artery, occurring in 24.7% of the study group, of which 13.8% were women and 10.3% men; hypoplasia of the right internal carotid artery found in 3.4% of women and of the left internal carotid artery in 6.8% of cases, 3.4% in women and 3.4% in men; and hypoplasia of the right common carotid artery was reported in 3.4% of men, whereas critical stenosis of the left subclavian artery with subclavian steal syndrome was observed in 3.4% of women. Although tinnitus was the most frequent symptom occurring in those patients, in this study dizziness was most common in patients admitted to the Department for the diagnosis, possibly because they found it more disturbing.