What is it about?

Subclavian steal syndrome is a constellation of signs and symptoms that arise from retrograde (reversed) flow of blood in the vertebral artery or the internal thoracic artery, due to a proximal stenosis (narrowing) and/or occlusion of the subclavian artery.

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Why is it important?

Subclavian steal syndrome is a consequence of a redundancy in the circulation of the brain and the flow of blood, having the following signs and symptoms: Presyncope (sensation that one is about to faint) Syncope (fainting) Neurologic deficits Blood pressure differential between the arms Severe memory problems Hands showing circulation problems (hands can have blotchy patches of red and white) (associated with other stigmata of vascular disease (e.g. vascular insufficiency ulcers of the fingers).

Perspectives

A model has been developed in order to describe the subclavian steal syndrome, when the heart to brain main artery circuit is occluded at one location on the right side (e.g. beginning of right subclavian artery). Quantitative details of the phenomenon have been shown depicting that when the short low resistance path (along the subclavian artery) becomes a high resistance path (due to narrowing) blood flows around the narrowing via the arteries that supply the brain (left and right vertebral artery, left and right internal carotid artery). Three areas of blood flow are distinguished as the right subclavian artery is narrowed. The area of blood flow increment that is on the left side vessels, the reduction and the reversed area of blood flow that are on the right side. Further investigation is needed to show the blood flow influence due to more occluded locations. All these might provide assistance to realistic predictions of the subclavian steal phenomenon according to the occlusion arteries’ locations.

Prof. Dr. CHRISTOS MANOPOULOS
National Technical University of Athens

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Subclavian Steal Syndrome – A Computer Model Approach, January 2010, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-13039-7_193.
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