Coronary Artery Disease Screening With Carotid Ultrasound Examination by a Primary Care Physician

BACKGROUND: In this study, we investigated the feasibility of primary care physicians using carotid ultrasound to perform coronary artery disease screening in asymptomatic patients with multiple coronary risk factors. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the data of 135 consecutive asymptomatic patients (mean age: 68.5 ± 8.4 years; male, 75%) who were referred to our institution due to abnormal findings on a carotid ultrasound performed by a primary care physician and who underwent coronary computed tomography angiography. RESULTS: The mean number of risk factors was 4.1 ± 1.2 and the mean intima-media thickness was 2.00 ± 0.63 mm. Mild (≤ 50%), moderate (51-75%), and severe (> 76%) coronary stenosis was observed in 54 (40%), 27 (20%), and 25 patients (19%), respectively, while no plaque was found in 24 patients (18%), and five patients (4%) could not be evaluated due to calcification. Consequently, coronary angiography was performed in 56 (41%) patients and coronary intervention was required in 31 patients (23%). A multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the ratio of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, the use of calcium channel blockers and the value of the diastolic blood pressure were related to > 50% coronary stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: The use of carotid ultrasound in the coronary artery disease screening by primary care physicians resulted in a high prevalence of coronary artery disease and high probabilities of coronary angiography and revascularization, and thus it is considered to be a useful and feasible strategy for the screening of asymptomatic patients.