Association among cardiovascular risk factors and carotid atherosclerosis. A study in patients attending a lipid clinic in Italy

Intima media thickening (IMT) of carotid arteries is a measurable index of atherosclerosis and it may be considered as a cardiovascular risk factor itself. Here we present the results of a cross sectional study performed in 963 patients attending the Enrica Grossi Paoletti Center in Milan. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of carotid IMT in patients with and without major cardiovascular events and to evaluate its association with the presence and numerosity of principal atherosclerotic risk factors. Maximal- and Mean-Maximal IMT were assessed by B-Mode ultrasonography and measured with an electronic caliper. IMTs were significantly greater in men vs. women and were directly related to age, SBP, TC, LDL-C, TG, blood glucose and uric acid and inversly to HDL-C. IMT was the best discriminant between patients with and without coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease, but not cerebrovascular disease. IMTs were also linearly related to the number of vascular risk factors, either in the whole group, or after stratification of patients into 3 different age classes. These observations establish the highly predictive validity of the B-Mode imaging of carotid atherosclerosis for the identification of individuals at high risk of vascular disease.