Atherosclerotic Changes in the Carotid Artery Bulb as Measured by B-Mode Ultrasound Are Associated With the Extent of Coronary Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Although this study is small, it points to a very important aspect of ultrasound measurements of atherosclerosis: measurements performed in the common carotid artery or the femoral artery may not relate to coronary atherosclerosis in the same way as measurements performed in the carotid bulb. The findings underline the importance of measuring IMT not only in the common carotid artery but also in the carotid bulb and present data separately. These results have to be confirmed in a larger-scale study.

Weight loss and progression of early atherosclerosis in the carotid artery: a four-year controlled study of obese subjects

“…The importance of atherosclerosis in the carotid bifurcation is further emphasized in a recent study by Hulthe et al, showing that IMT measured in the carotid bulb correlates better with coronary atherosclerosis than IMT measured in the common carotid artery. 16 As expected, weight loss in our obese subjects was associated with improvements in several risk factors including reductions in blood pressure, triglycerides and insulin and an increase in HDL-cholesterol. One important observation was that the obese control group displayed a signi®cant increase in carotid bulb IMT at follow-up, while the weight loss group did not.…”

“…These observations are of importance since ultrasound measurements of carotid IMT are not only an estimation of atherosclerosis in the carotid artery but also a surrogate measurement of coronary atherosclerosis. 16 Despite the accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors in obese subjects, previous studies have not been able to identify a clear relationship between obesity and atherosclerosis. In 1983, Solberg and Strong reviewed autopsy studies from 24 geographical locations and concluded that there were no consistent associations between obesity and atherosclerotic disease.…”

Impact of gender on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure and target organ damage

“…Studies also suggested that there is a significant correlation between the ultrasound measurements of IMT of the carotid arteries and coronary artery lesions. [49][50][51] We found that men had higher values of IMT of carotid arteries compared with women and that this difference remains significant after adjustment for age, BMI, smoking status, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, mean 24 h systolic BP and mean 24 h diastolic BP levels. Thus, our results highlight that men exhibited higher early atherosclerotic target organ damage than women.…”

Relationship of carotid intima‐media thickness, pulse wave velocity, and ankle brachial index to the severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis

“…2,3,13 However, Adams et al 14 showed a poor correlation between IMT and CAD, although only the common carotid artery was examined in their study. Other researchers have demonstrated that the IMT in the carotid artery bulb was associated with the extent of CAD, 13 cardiovascular risk factors, and the prevalence of ischemic heart disease. 15 We also demonstrated that the carotid IMT correlated significantly and relatively well with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis.…”