Abstract
The thickness of the carotid intima-media complex (C-IMC) is considered to be a marker of early atherosclerosis, but visual and echogenic changes to the C-IMC can also be noted. The objective here was to evaluate the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and the echogenicity of the C-IMC and identify those most associated with an "abnormal" C-IMC. Cross-sectional study in the ultrasound sector of the Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. Eighty men were evaluated. Measurements of arterial blood pressure, waist circumference (WC), lipid profile, fasting glucose, uric acid and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein were obtained. The thickness of the C-IMC was measured by means of B-mode ultrasound, and the intima-media gray-scale mean (IM-GSM) and standard deviation (IM-SD) were calculated. The following were discriminating variables: fasting glucose (r2 = 0.036; P = 0.013), uric acid (r2 = 0.08; P = 0.03), IM-SD (r2 = 0.43; P < 0.001), IM-GSM (r2 = 0.35; P < 0.001) and thickness of the C-IMC (r2 = 0.29; P < 0.001). IM-GSM showed significant correlations with WC (r = -0.22; P = 0.005), fasting glucose (r = -0.24; P = 0.002) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (r = 0.27; P = 0.0007). IM-GSM showed correlations with WC, fasting glucose and HDL-C. However, uric acid and IM-SD presented the greatest discriminating impact. These results suggest that visual changes in C-IMC may help identify patients with potential cardiovascular risk, independently of the thickness of the C-IMC.
Highlights
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs mainly in large and medium-sized elastic and muscular arteries.[1]
Three of the 80 volunteers had no cardiovascular risk factors, 12 of them had been considered healthy until the laboratory test results were seen
High serum triglyceride and low serum high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels and glucose abnormalities associated with obesity are risk factors predictive of cardiovascular disease
Summary
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs mainly in large and medium-sized elastic and muscular arteries.[1]. Since atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, there is a growing amount of evidence that biomarkers like high-sensitivity C-reactive protein present increased levels in individuals with cardiovascular disease.[2]
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