The role of plaque morphology and diameter reduction in the development of new symptoms in asymptomatic carotid arteries

Eccentric Stenosis of the Carotid Artery Associated with Ipsilateral Cerebrovascular Events

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12] This might be because of the small patient number for appropriate statistical analysis or because the echogenicity of the carotid plaque was not evaluated objectively and quantitatively by using the gray-scale median. Other limitations of the present study include the following reasons.…”

“…The vulnerability of the carotid plaque morphology has been recognized as an important predictor for stroke. 6 Hypoechoic 7-10 or heterogenous [10][11][12] plaques on sonography, as well as the presence of intraplaque hemorrhage or a thin or ruptured fibrous cap on multicontrast weighted MR imaging, 13 have been reported to predict subsequent stroke. Plaque characteristics other than stenosis severity may be essential for assessing the risk of artery-to-artery embolism from a carotid plaque.…”

Cerebral Ischaemia and Stroke; Role of Carotid Doppler

“…Ultrasonography is helpful for detection of plaque ulceration, echogenicity, surface and intraplaque haemorrhage which has prognostic implications in ischemic stroke. 5,6,7,8,9,10 Vertebral arteries are responsible for adequate blood flow to brain which can be decreased with significant stenosis and can be assessed with carotid duplex imaging, which is considered as best non-invasive screening test for stenosis in external carotid arteries. 11 Majority of such patients require endarterectomy for symptomatic relief.…”

Quantitative analysis of ultrasound B-mode images of carotid atherosclerotic plaque: correlation with visual classification and histological examination

“…[16] However, during the last decade an increasing number of reports have indicated that Bmode ultrasound images of the carotid plaque reveal features (echogenicity and structure) related to the presence of brain infarcts on computed tomography images [17] and to the risk of developing new neurological symptoms [2], [6], [20], [22], [25], [32], [38]. In other studies, where carotid endarterectomy was involved, the intensity of the reflected signals has been related directly to the amount of calcification and inversely to the amount of soft materials (lipids and hemorrhage) [8], [13], [31].…”