OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between carotid artery disease by ultrasound and coronary artery disease by coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and to identify carotid ultrasound parameters predictive of coronary artery disease. BACKGROUND Carotid ultrasound and CTA are noninvasive modalities used to image atherosclerosis. Studies examining the r...

BACKGROUND The natural histories of equally severe symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenoses are very different, which suggests dichotomy in plaque behavior. The vascular biology of the symptomatic carotid plaque is presented in this review. SUMMARY OF REVIEW Histology studies comparing asymptomatic and symptomatic plaques were identified from MEDLINE. Reports in which stenosis severity w...

Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has demonstrated a high prevalence of infarct-like lesions, white matter hyperintensities, and evidence of cerebral atrophy in older adults. While these findings are generally believed to be related to ischemia and atherosclerosis, their relationship to atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries remains to be explored. Study subjects were part of the multi...

Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has demonstrated a high prevalence of infarct-like lesions, white matter hyperintensities, and evidence of cerebral atrophy in older adults. While these findings are generally believed to be related to ischemia and atherosclerosis, their relationship to atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries remains to be explored. Study subjects were part of the multi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The overall burden of prior infections may contribute to atherosclerosis and stroke risk. We hypothesized that serological evidence of common infections would be associated with carotid plaque thickness in a multiethnic cohort. METHODS Antibody titers to 5 common infectious microorganisms (ie, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus, and herpesvirus 1...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE MR imaging-detected carotid intraplaque hemorrhage indicates vulnerable plaque with high stroke risk. Angiotensin II stimulates intraplaque hemorrhage in animal models, and the angiotensin system is highly regulated by vitamin D. Our purpose was to determine whether low vitamin D levels predict carotid intraplaque hemorrhage in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cros...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It is now widely accepted that thrombotic coronary artery occlusion usually follows rupture of an unstable atherosclerotic plaque. The significance of such instability in arteries supplying the brain is less well appreciated. We therefore describe the clinical and pathological features of recent, symptomatic internal carotid artery occlusion to examine the pathogenetic ro...

BACKGROUND It is recognized that complicated plaque largely accounts for the morbidity and mortality from atherosclerosis. Ideally, investigation of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients would identify atheromatous plaques independently of stenosis. We have previously shown that a magnetic resonance direct thrombus imaging (MRDTI) technique demonstrates complicated atheroma as high signal withi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The genetic influence on carotid atherosclerotic plaque is mostly unknown. This study examines the association between carotid plaque and single nucleotide polymorphisms in selected genes implicated in inflammation and endothelial function. METHODS A total of 43 genes (197 single nucleotide polymorphisms) involved in inflammation and endothelial function were interrogat...

Background: The study was conducted to investigate the primary mechanism via which plasma homocysteine (HCY) causes vascular endothelial injury (VEI) in patients with diabetes. Methods: 286 patients with diabetes were assigned to two groups based on whether B ultrasound indicated plaque in the carotid artery. The parameters including blood HCY, and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were determined. The stat...