Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of the Patients.*
| Characteristic | Medical-Management Group (N = 227) |
PTAS Group (N = 224) |
|---|---|---|
| Age — yr | 59.5±11.8 | 61.0±10.7 |
| Male sex — no. (%) | 145 (63.9) | 127 (56.7) |
| Race — no. (%)† | ||
| Black | 50 (22.0) | 55 (24.6) |
| White | 161 (70.9) | 160 (71.4) |
| Other | 16 (7.0) | 9 (4.0) |
| Hypertension — no. (%) | 203 (89.4) | 201 (89.7) |
| Diabetes — no. (%) | 103 (45.4) | 106 (47.3) |
| Lipid disorder — no. (%) | 203 (89.4) | 194 (86.6) |
| Smoking history — no./total no. (%) | ||
| Never | 78/227 (34.4) | 90/223 (40.4) |
| Former | 80/227 (35.2) | 79/223 (35.4) |
| Current | 69/227 (30.4) | 54/223 (24.2) |
| History of coronary artery disease — no. (%) | 59 (26.0) | 47 (21.0) |
| History of stroke other than qualifying event — no. (%) | 58 (25.6) | 60 (26.8) |
| Qualifying event — no. (%) | ||
| Stroke | 152 (67.0) | 142 (63.4) |
| TIA | 75 (33.0) | 82 (36.6) |
| Already receiving antithrombotic therapy at time of qualifying event — no. (%) |
141 (62.1) | 145 (64.7) |
| Time from qualifying event to randomization — days | ||
| Median | 7 | 7 |
| Interquartile range | 4–19 | 4–16 |
| Symptomatic qualifying artery — no. (%) | ||
| Internal carotid | 49 (21.6) | 45 (20.1) |
| Middle cerebral | 105 (46.3) | 92 (41.1) |
| Vertebral | 22 (9.7) | 38 (17.0) |
| Basilar | 51 (22.5) | 49 (21.9) |
| Stenosis of symptomatic qualifying artery‡ | ||
| Mean percentage stenosis | 81±7 | 80±7 |
| Distribution — no./total no. (%) | ||
| 70–79% stenosis | 102/227 (44.9) | 107/223 (48.0) |
| 80–89% stenosis | 97/227 (42.7) | 92/223 (41.3) |
| 90–99% stenosis | 28/227 (12.3) | 24/223 (10.8) |
*
Plus–minus values are means ±SD. Baseline characteristics of the two groups were compared with the use of either an independent groups t-test (for means) or a chi-square test (for percentages). None of the characteristics differed significantly between the groups (P<0.05 for all comparisons). PTAS denotes percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting.
†
Race was self-reported.
‡
Stenosis was quantified on the basis of a reading of the angiogram by the site interventionist.