Abstract TP524: Carotid Intima-Media Thickness Was Significantly Correlated With the 10-Year CVD Risk in Medical Check-Up Participants

Abstract

Background: Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) can identify subjects at increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk and can guide future treatment. However, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has reaffirmed its previous recommendation against screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general adult population. Hypothesis: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between 10-year cardiovascular risk and carotid IMT in medical check-up participants. The measurement of carotid IMT might be a valuable tool for educating and reducing the CVD risk factors in individual subject. Methods: Adults aged 50 to 69 years were eligible for the study if they did not have a history of ASCVD or stroke. The ASCVD risk estimator (http://tools.acc.org/ASCVD-Risk-Estimator) was used for the calculation of the 10-year CVD risk. For the study, the maximum IMT of both carotid arteries were measured and the mean value of them was used for analysis. Results: A total of 265 patients were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 58 years, and 28% were women. The mean IMT was significantly correlated with the 10-year CVD risk in all participants (r=0.180, P=0.003). Among men, the mean IMT was 0.81±0.13 mm and 64 (33.5%) participants had ≥10% 10-year CVD risk. Significant difference was observed in the mean IMT between ≥10% 10-year CVD risk group and <10% 10-year CVD risk group (P=0.025). With women, the mean IMT was 0.78±0.10 mm and 6 (8.1%) participants had ≥10% 10-year CVD risk. There was no significant difference in the mean IMT between the groups (p=0.291). In all participants, the cutoff value of the carotid IMT for ≥10% 10-year CVD risk was 0.87 mm (sensitivity, 37.1%; specificity, 87.1%) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.618 (95% CI, 0.56-0.58, P=0.003). In men, the cutoff value of the carotid IMT for ≥10% 10-year CVD risk was 0.86 mm (sensitivity, 37.5%; specificity, 81.1%). The AUC was 0.606 (95% CI, 0.53-0.68, P=0.015). Conclusions: Though routine sonographic screening for carotid artery has little supporting evidence, our study suggested that there may be an opportunity for reducing the rate of ASCVD and stroke through the tailored sonographic examination in high risk subjects.