Journal of Vascular Surgery
Volume 47, Issue 3 , Pages 523-529 , March 2008

The prevalence of hypoechoic carotid plaques is greater in peripheral than in coronary artery disease and is related to the neutrophil count

Received 3 August 2007 ,Accepted 25 October 2007.

References 

  1. de Virgilio C, Toosie K, Arnell T, Lewis RJ, Donayre CE, Baker JD, et al. Asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis screening in patients with lower extremity atherosclerosis: a prospective study. Ann Vasc Surg. 1997;11:374–377
  2. Cinà CS, Safar HA, Maggisano R, Bailey R, Clase CM. Prevalence and progression of internal carotid artery stenosis in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. J Vasc Surg. 2002;36:75–82
  3. Kallikazaros I, Tsioufis C, Sideris S, Stefanadis C, Toutouzas P. Carotid artery disease as a marker for the presence of severe coronary artery disease in patients evaluated for chest pain. Stroke. 1999;30:1002–1007
  4. Kurvers HA, van der Graaf Y, Blankensteijn JD, Visseren FL, Eikelboom BC SMART Study Group. Screening for asymptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis and aneurysm of the abdominal aorta: comparing the yield between patients with manifest atherosclerosis and patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis only. J Vasc Surg. 2003;37:1226–1233
  5. Cheng SW, Wu LL, Lau H, Ting AC, Wong J. Prevalence of significant carotid stenosis in Chinese patients with peripheral and coronary artery disease. Aust N Z J Surg. 1999;69:44–47
  6. A randomised, blinded, trial of clopidogrel versus aspirin in patients at risk of ischaemic events (CAPRIE) (Caprie Steering Committee). Lancet. 1996;348:1329–1339
  7. Steg PG, Bhatt DL, Wilson PW, D’Agostino R, Ohman EM, Rother J, et al. REACH Registry Investigators One-year cardiovascular event rates in outpatients with atherothrombosis. Jama. 2007;297:1197–1206
  8. Langsfield M, Gray-Weale AC, Lusby RJ. The role of plaque morphology and diameter reduction in the development of new symptoms in asymptomatic carotid arteries. J Vasc Surg. 1989;9:548–557
  9. Barnett HJ, Gunton RW, Eliasziw M, Fleming L, Sharpe B, Gates P, et al. Causes and severity of ischemic stroke in patients with internal carotid artery stenosis. Jama. 2000;283:1429–1436
  10. Gronholdt ML, Nordestgaard BG, Schroeder TV, Vorstrup S, Sillesen H. Ultrasonic echolucent carotid plaques predict future strokes. Circulation. 2001;104:68–73
  11. Mathiesen EB, Bonaa KH, Joakimsen O. Echolucent plaques are associated with high risk of ischemic cerebrovascular events in carotid stenosis: the Tromso study. Circulation. 2001;103:2171–2175
  12. European Carotid Plaque Study Group. Carotid artery plaque composition: relationship to clinical presentation and ultrasound B-mode imaging. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 1995;10:23–30
  13. Echo-lucency of computerized ultrasound images of carotid atherosclerotic plaques are associated with increased levels of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins as well as increased plaque lipid content. Circulation. 1998;97:34–40
  14. Lal BK, Hobson RW, Pappas PJ, Kubicka R, Hameed M, Chakhtoura EY, et al. Pixel distribution analysis of B-mode ultrasound scan images predicts histologic features of atherosclerotic carotid plaques. J Vasc Surg. 2002;35:1210–1217
  15. Fosse E, Johnsen SH, Stensland-Bugge E, Joakimsen O, Mathiesen EB, Arnesen E, et al. Repeated visual and computer-assisted carotid plaque characterization in a longitudinal population-based ultrasound study: the Tromsø study. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2006;32:3–11
  16. Chambless LE, Zhong MM, Arnett D, Folsom AR, Riley WA, Heiss G. Variability in B-mode ultrasound measurements in the atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1996;22:545–554
  17. Stensland-Bugge E, Bonaa KH, Joakimsen O. Reproducibility of ultrasonographically determined intima-media thickness is dependent on arterial wall thickness (The Tromso Study). Stroke. 1997;28:1972–1980
  18. Nicolaides AN, Shifrin EG, Bradbury A, Dhanjil S, Griffin M, Belcaro G, et al. Angiographic and duplex grading of internal carotid stenosis: can we overcome the confusion?. J Endovasc Surg. 1996;3:158–165
  19. Gray-Weale AC, Graham JC, Burnett JR, Byrne K, Lusby RJ. Carotid artery atheroma: comparison of preoperative B-mode ultrasound appearance with carotid endoarterectomy specimen pathology. J Cardiovasc Surg. 1988;29:676–681
  20. Joakimsen O, Bonaa KH, Stensland-Bugge E. Reproducibility of ultrasound assessment of carotid plaque occurrence, thickness, and morphology (The Tromsø Study). Stroke. 1997;28:2201–2207
  21. Elatrozy T, Nicolaides A, Tegos T, Zarka AZ, Griffin M, Sabetai M. The effect of B-mode ultrasonic image standardisation on the echodensity of symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid bifurcation plaques. Int Angiol. 1998;17:179–186
  22. Cox DR. Regression and life tables. J R Stat Soc. 1972;34:187–220
  23. El-Barghouty N, Geroulakos G, Nicolaides A, Androulakis A, Bahal V. Computer-assisted carotid plaque characterisation. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 1995;9:389–393
  24. Tegos TJ, Sohail M, Sabetai MM, Robless P, Akbar N, Pare G, et al. Echomorphologic and histopathologic characteristics of unstable carotid plaques. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2000;21:1937–1944
  25. Greenland P, Abrams J, Aurigemma JP, Bond MG, Clark LT, Criqui MH, et al. Prevention Conference V: beyond secondary prevention: identifying the high-risk patient for primary prevention: noninvasive tests of atherosclerotic burden: Writing Group III. Circulation. 2000;101:e16–e22
  26. Yamagami H, Kitagawa K, Nagai Y, Hougaku H, Sakaguchi M, Kuwabara K, et al. Higher levels of interleukin-6 are associated with lower echogenicity of carotid artery plaques. Stroke. 2004;35:677–681
  27. Zanchetti A, Bond MG, Hennig M, Neiss A, Mancia G, Dal Palù C, et al. Calcium antagonist lacidipine slows down progression of asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis: principal results of the European Lacidipine Study on Atherosclerosis (ELSA), a randomized, double-blind, long-term trial. Circulation. 2002;106:2422–2427
  28. Kallikazaros IE, Tsioufis CP, Stefanadis CI, Pitsavos CE, Toutouzas PK. Closed relation between carotid and ascending aortic atherosclerosis in cardiac patients. Circulation. 2000;102:263–268
  29. Roman MJ, Naqvi TZ, Gardin JM, Gerhard-Herman M, Jaff M, Mohler E, et al. American society of echocardiography report (Clinical application of noninvasive vascular ultrasound in cardiovascular risk stratification: a report from the American Society of Echocardiography and the Society for Vascular Medicine and Biology). Vasc Med. 2006;11:201–211
  30. Lombardo A, Biasucci LM, Lanza GA, Coli S, Silvestri P, Cianflone D, et al. Inflammation as a possible link between coronary and carotid plaque instability. Circulation. 2004;109:3158–3163
  31. Rossi A, Franceschini L, Fusaro M, Cicoira M, Eleas AA, Golia G, et al. Carotid atherosclerotic plaque instability in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Int J Cardiol. 2006;111:263–266
  32. Noto AT, Bogeberg Mathiesen E, Amiral J, Vissac AM, Hansen JB. Endothelial dysfunction and systemic inflammation in persons with echolucent carotid plaques. Thromb Haemost. 2006;96:53–59
  33. Brevetti G, Piscione F, Silvestro A, Galasso G, Di Donato A, Oliva G, et al. Increased inflammatory status and higher prevalence of three-vessel coronary artery disease in patients with concomitant coronary and peripheral atherosclerosis. Thromb Haemost. 2003;89:1058–1063
  34. Erren M, Reinecke H, Junker R, Fobker M, Schulte H, Schurek JO, et al. Systemic inflammatory parameters in patients with atherosclerosis of the coronary and peripheral arteries. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1999;19:2355–2363
  35. Paraskevas KI, Hamilton G, Mikhailidis DP. Statins: an essential component in the management of carotid artery disease. J Vasc Surg. 2007;46:373–386
  36. Tegos TJ, Stavropoulos P, Sabetai MM, Khodabakhsh P, Sassano A, Nicolaides AN. Determinants of carotid plaque instability: echoicity versus heterogeneity. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2001;22:22–30
  37. Mayor I, Momjian S, Lalive P, Sztajzel R. Carotid plaque: comparison between visual and grey-scale median analysis. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2003;29:961–966
  38. Matsagas MI, Vasdekis SN, Gugulakis AG, Lazaris A, Foteinou M, Sechas MN. Computer-assisted ultrasonographic analysis of carotid plaques in relation to cerebrovascular symptoms, cerebral infarction, and histology. Ann Vasc Surg. 2000;14:130–137
  39. Falkowski A, Parafiniuk M, Poncyljusz W, Kaczmarczyk M, Wilk G. Ultrasonographic and histological analysis of atheromatous plaques in carotid arteries and apoplectic complications. Med Sci Monit. 2007;13:78–82

 Competition of interest: none.

PII: S0741-5214(07)01758-2

doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2007.10.054

Journal of Vascular Surgery
Volume 47, Issue 3 , Pages 523-529 , March 2008