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.