Correlation between vascular stenosis severity and dizziness symptoms and neurological prognosis in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background: Dizziness is a frequent complaint among elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, its association with different grades and locations of arterial stenosis remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the links between stenosis severity, posterior circulation involvement, dizziness, and short-term neurological outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 134 elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted from January 2024 to May 2025. All patients underwent Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) or MRA of the intracranial and extracranial arteries, including the common and internal carotid arteries, the middle cerebral artery, the vertebral artery (VA), and the basilar artery (BA). Stenosis of extracranial segments was measured with North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET) criteria, while intracranial segments were assessed using Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease Trial (WASID) standards. Patients were grouped by the most severely affected major supplying artery as mild (