Carotid Plaque Echolucency Measured by Grayscale Median Identifies Patients at Increased Risk of Stroke during Carotid Stenting. The Imaging in Carotid Angioplasty and Risk of Stroke Study

Author(s):  
A. Froio ◽  
G. Deleo ◽  
C. Piazzoni ◽  
V. Camesasca ◽  
A. Liloia ◽  
...  
Vascular ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio M. Biasi ◽  
Alberto Froio ◽  
Gaetano Deleo ◽  
Claudia Piazzoni ◽  
Valter Camesasca

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) is used widely to treat carotid lesions. Indication to CAS is mostly based, both in trial and in clinical practice, on the percentage of stenosis and the presence or absence of preprocedural neurologic symptoms, whereas the features of the plaque are somehow disregarded and ignored. The most severe complication of CAS is stroke, related to cerebral embolization from carotid plaque. Several studies showed that echolucent plaques generate a higher number of embolic particles following carotid stenting. Echolucency can be measured using the gray scale median, which is an objective and quantitative computer-assisted grading of the echogenicity of carotid plaques. As previously demonstrated in the ICAROS study, carotid plaque echolucency is an independent risk factor for stroke in carotid stenting. Carotid plaque echolucency is one of the parameters that should be mandatory to be considered for indication to treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e000454
Author(s):  
Sofia Ajeganova ◽  
Ingiäld Hafström ◽  
Johan Frostegård

ObjectiveSLE is a strong risk factor for premature cardiovascular (CV) disease and mortality. We investigated which factors could explain poor prognosis in SLE compared with controls.MethodsPatients with SLE and population controls without history of clinical CV events who performed carotid ultrasound examination were recruited for this study. The outcome was incident CV event and death. Event-free survival rates were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves. Relative HR (95% CI) was used to estimate risk of outcome.ResultsPatients (n=99, 87% female), aged 47 (13) years and with a disease duration of 12 (9) years, had mild disease at inclusion, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Diseases Activity Index score of 3 (1–6) and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Damage Index score of 0 (0–1). The controls (n=109, 91% female) were 49 (12) years old. Baseline carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) did not differ between the groups, but plaques were more prevalent in patients (p=0.068). During 10.1 (9.8-10.2) years, 12 patients and 4 controls reached the outcome (p=0.022). Compared with the controls, the risk of the adverse outcome in patients increased threefold to fourfold taking into account age, gender, history of smoking and diabetes, family history of CV, baseline body mass index, waist circumference, C reactive protein, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, dyslipidaemia, cIMT and presence of carotid plaque. In patients, higher SLICC score and SLE-antiphospholipid syndrome (SLE-APS) were associated with increased risk of the adverse outcome, with respective HRs of 1.66 (95% CI 1.20 to 2.28) and 9.08 (95% CI 2.71 to 30.5), as was cIMT with an HR of 1.006 (95% CI 1.002 to 1.01). The combination of SLICC and SLE-APS with cIMT significantly improved prediction of the adverse outcome (p<0.001).ConclusionIn patients with mild SLE of more than 10 years duration, there is a threefold to fourfold increased risk of CV events and death compared with persons who do not have SLE with similar pattern of traditional CV risk factors, cIMT and presence of carotid plaque. SLICC, SLE-APS and subclinical atherosclerosis may indicate a group at risk of worse outcome in SLE.


2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoyuki Uchiyama ◽  
Kouichi Misaki ◽  
Masanao Mohri ◽  
Takuya Watanabe ◽  
Yuichi Hirota ◽  
...  

Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J Kruger ◽  
Matthew Flaherty ◽  
Padmini Sekar ◽  
Mary Haverbusch ◽  
Charles J Moomaw ◽  
...  

Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has the highest short and long-term morbidity and mortality rates of stroke subtypes. While increased intracranial pressure due to the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) may relate to early poor outcomes, the mechanism of reduced 3-month outcome with IVH is unclear. We hypothesized that IVH may cause symptoms similar to normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), specifically urinary incontinence and gait disturbance. Methods: We used interviewed cases from the Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke Study (7/1/08-12/31/12) that had 3-month follow-ups available. CT images were analyzed for ICH volume and location, and IVH presence and volume. Incontinence and dysmobility were defined by Barthel Index at 3 months. We chose a Barthel Index score of bladder less than 10 and mobility less than 15 to define incontinence and dysmobility, respectively. Multivariate analysis was used to assess independent risk factors for incontinence and dysmobility. ICH and IVH volumes were log transformed because of non-normal distributions. Results: Barthel Index was recorded for 308 ICH subjects, of whom 106 (34.4%) had IVH. Presence of IVH was independently associated with both incontinence (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.4-5.2; p=.003) and dysmobility (OR 2.5; 95% CI 1.4-4.8; p=.003). The Table shows that increasing IVH volume was also independently associated with both incontinence and dysmobility after controlling for ICH location, ICH volume, age, baseline mRS, and admission GCS. Conclusion: Our data show that patients with IVH after ICH are at an increased risk for developing the NPH-like symptoms of incontinence and dysmobility. This may explain the worse long-term outcomes of patients who survive ICH with IVH than those who had ICH alone. Future studies are needed to confirm this finding, and to determine the effect of IVH interventions such as shunt or intraventricular thrombolysis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andjoli Davidhi ◽  
Vasileios Rafailidis ◽  
Evangelos Destanis ◽  
Panos Prassopoulos ◽  
Stefanos Foinitsis

Recent literature has shown that various carotid plaque features, other than stenosis, contribute to plaque vulnerability. Features such as surface morphology and plaque composition with distinct components (e.g. intraplaque hemorrhage, lipid core) have been associated with the increased risk of future cerebrovascular events. Ultrasonography constitutes the first line modality for the assessment of carotid disease and has traditionally been used to grade stenosis with high accuracy. Recenttechnological advances such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound and elastography increased the diagnostic yield of ultrasound in assessing the morphology of carotid plaques. The purpose of this review is to present the available literature on ultrasound elastography of the atherosclerotic carotid. Strain and shear wave elastography allow for the characterization of plaque components, thus indicating its nature and importantly, the plaque’s vulnerability. Shear wave elastography indices appear morerobust than Strain indices. Overall, elastography is a feasible method to distinguish vulnerable carotid plaques. There is, however, a need for larger and longer prospective controlled clinical studies in order to validate elastography as an imaging modality used for the detection of unstable carotid plaques.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S Hatsukami ◽  
Xue-Qiao Zhao ◽  
Daniel Rader ◽  
Daniel S Hippe ◽  
Sony Tuteja-Stevens ◽  
...  

Objective: Studies suggest that a SNP in the promoter region of the C DKN1B gene (-838 C>A; rs36228499), a cell cycle inhibitor, may be associated with decreased vascular SMC proliferation and increased risk of MI. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that the -838A allele is associated with decreased carotid plaque progression. Methods: 214 AIM-HIGH participants underwent annual carotid MRI over 2 years using a standardized protocol. Images were analyzed by Core Lab reviewers blinded to the genotyping results. Plaques with ulceration or hemorrhage were excluded as these local features may contribute excess variability or override genotype. Changes in wall thickness (WT) and lumen, wall, fibrous tissue and total vessel volumes were measured. Associations between number of A alleles and remodeling patterns were tested using linear regression. Results: Of the 214 subjects, 161 had suitable MRI and genotype data available for analysis. There was a significant trend toward less growth (more regression) in mean WT for each A allele (p=0.043) (Figure 1). Other plaque variables were not significantly associated with genotype but directionally showed weak trends toward more expansive remodeling for each C allele. Conclusions: These data suggest that -838 C>A SNP of the C DKN1B gene is significantly associated with carotid mean WT progression among subjects with established vascular disease well treated for LDL-C and blood pressure.


Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L Flaherty ◽  
Lili Ding ◽  
Jessica G Woo ◽  
Lisa Martin ◽  
Mary Haverbusch ◽  
...  

Context: Intracranial bleeding is the most feared complication of antithrombotic use. Antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs increase risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), yet in some instances, combinations of antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants are used without firm evidence of efficacy. Few studies have compared the risks of different agents and their combinations in a single population. We determined the risk of ICH associated with the most commonly used antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs and their combinations in a population-based case-control study. Methods: This report includes data from subjects recruited from the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area by the Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Hemorrhagic Stroke Study from 1997 to 2009. We compared individuals in different treatment groups to identify any differences in baseline covariates that could be associated with treatment assignment. As there were a number of statistically significant differences, we used multivariate matching to analyze risk for ICH conferred by different antithrombotic agents. Treatment effects on ICH were estimated using the matched samples while accounting for the dependence between matched individuals. Results: There were 733 subjects with ICH and 2555 controls included in this study period. Results are shown in the table. Use of aspirin, clopidogrel, or their combination was associated with a trend toward increased risk. Warfarin increased risk compared with no antithrombotic use (OR 3.98, p < 0.0001). The combination of warfarin and either aspirin or clopidogrel produced the greatest risk, compared with no antithrombic therapy (OR 4.92 p<0.001) or compared with warfarin alone (OR 3.00 p=0.009). Conclusions: The combination of warfarin and an antiplatelet drug significantly increases risk of ICH compared with no antithrombotic therapy or warfarin monotherapy. The use of combination therapy requires careful consideration in clinical practice.


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