A carotid bruit is a vascular murmur sound (bruit) heard over the carotid artery area on auscultation during systole.

Associated conditions

It may occur as the result of carotid artery stenosis^[1] (though some disagree);^[2] however, most carotid bruits, particularly those found in younger or asymptomatic patients, are not related to any disease and are termed "innocent carotid bruits".^[3]

Many carotid bruits are discovered incidentally in an otherwise asymptomatic patient. The presence of a carotid bruit alone does not necessarily indicate the presence of stenosis, and the physical examination cannot be used to estimate the degree of stenosis, if present; therefore, any bruit must be evaluated by ultrasound or imaging.^[4]

Pronunciation and terminology

Bruit is traditionally pronounced broot, rhyming with fruit, although the etymologically accurate pronunciation bru´e or bru-e´ is common in North American medical parlance.^[5] In addition, while bruit and murmur are technically synonymous, the term bruit is generally reserved for arterial sounds in North America.^[4]