SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMON CAROTID BACK PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS

  • 1 January 1981
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 89  (4) , 443-448
Abstract
Pressure in the common carotid artery distal to a clamp occluding the artery was measured and compared to the internal carotid back pressure. In most patients the difference between the 2 pressures was slight (mean 1.45 mmHg, SD 10.45 mm Hg), but in 25.6% the pressure difference exceeded 10 mmHg. In 2.6% the difference was greater than 30 mmHg. Flow in the internal carotid artery reversed during common carotid clamping in 10.3% of the studies; the maximal rate of reversed internal carotid flow recorded was 62 ml/min. Significant retrograde flow could be anticipated when the carotid bifurcation was relatively free of stenosis and the internal carotid back pressure exceeded the common carotid back pressure by 20 mmHg or more. Reversal of internal carotid flow during common carotid clamping only occurred when the internal carotid back pressure was 50 mmHg or greater, suggesing that retrograde internal carotid flow is a manifestation of high intracranial collateral blood pressure and not a cause of cerebral ischemia. The results have application to carotid and other extracranial arterial reconstructions and to ocular plethysmographic assessment of collateral hemispheric pressure.

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