Carotid Atherosclerosis in Ischemic Cerebrovascular Patients

BACKGROUND: Cerebral emboli resulting from atherosclerosis at the carotid bifurcation is a major cause of ischemic stroke. A convenient and prompt evaluation is necessary for secondary prevention and treatment. METHODS: In this study, one hundred and thirty eight patients with cerebral ischemic events were enrolled; 100 patients with nonischemic cerebral diseases were enrolled as controls. Noninvasive ultrasound was used to measure the atherosclerotic plaques and intima-media thickness (IMT) of carotid and femoral artery. RESULTS: Our results showed that patients in study group had higher incidence and severity of carotid and femoral plaques, and higher mean intima-media thickness (IMT) at both the carotid and femoral sites compared with that of controls (p < 0.01). Carotid atherosclerosis were highly prone to have instability plaques in study group(p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This cross-sectional study showed that, the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis and the unstable plaques were higher in cerebral ischemic patients. KEYWORDS: Carotid artery; Atherosclerosis; Intima-media thickness; Cerebral ischemic stroke