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Basilar Artery Blood Flow in Subclavian Steal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Natan M. Bornstein ,
Adam Krajewski  and
John W. Norris
Natan M. Bornstein
Affiliation:
Stroke Research Unit, Sunnybrook Medical Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto
Adam Krajewski
Affiliation:
Stroke Research Unit, Sunnybrook Medical Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto
John W. Norris*
Affiliation:
Stroke Research Unit, Sunnybrook Medical Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto
*
Sunnybrook Medical Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4N 3M5
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Abstract:

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Subclavian “steal”, when blood siphons from one vertebral artery to the other, has been suggested as a cause of brain stem ischaemia and stroke. We investigated 33 patients using transcranial Doppler to determine the direction and velocity of basilar blood flow. All patients had severe subclavian stenosis with reversed vertebral blood flow in the ipsilateral artery previously demonstrated by extracranial Doppler. Basilar flow was normal in direction in all cases, but its velocity was significantly increased (p<0.0008) compared to age- and sex-matched controls. These findings, in conjunction with previous observations using extracranial Doppler techniques, suggest that subclavian steal is little more than a harmless haemodynamic phenomenon.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , November 1988 , pp. 417 - 419
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1988

References

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