scholarly journals Associations of Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness (IMT) With Risk Factors and Prevalent Cardiovascular Disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 1759-1768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph F. Polak ◽  
Michael J. Pencina ◽  
Allison Meisner ◽  
Karol M. Pencina ◽  
Lisa S. Brown ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Susan A. Everson‐Rose ◽  
Emma J. M. Barinas‐Mitchell ◽  
Samar R. El Khoudary ◽  
Hsin‐Hui Huang ◽  
Qi Wang ◽  
...  

Background The menopausal transition is characterized by increased cardiovascular risk, weight gain, and increased adiposity for many women. The adipose‐derived secretory proteins adiponectin and leptin are associated with insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease but their role in subclinical atherosclerotic disease is unclear. This cross‐sectional study evaluated the associations of adiponectin and leptin with carotid artery intima‐media thickness, adventitial diameter, presence of carotid plaques, and brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in women aged 54 to 65 years. Methods and Results Participants were 1399 women from SWAN (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation), a community‐based study of women transitioning through menopause. Carotid ultrasound and baPWV measures were obtained at SWAN follow‐up visits 12 or 13, when 97% of participants were post‐menopausal. Adipokines were assayed from serum specimens obtained concurrently at these visits. Linear and logistic regression models were used to evaluate adiponectin or leptin, both log‐transformed attributable to skewness, in relationship to carotid artery intima‐media thickness, adventitial diameter, baPWV, and presence of carotid plaque. Covariates included age, race, study site, smoking, alcohol use, obesity, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and menopausal status. Lower levels of adiponectin were related to greater carotid artery intima‐media thickness, wider adventitial diameter, and faster baPWV; associations were attenuated after adjusting for cardiovascular disease risk factors. Higher levels of leptin were associated with greater carotid artery intima‐media thickness and wider adventitial diameter in minimally and fully adjusted models, and contrary to expectation, with slower baPWV, particularly among women with diabetes mellitus or obesity. Conclusions Adiponectin and leptin are 2 important inflammatory pathways that may contribute to adverse subclinical cardiovascular disease risk profiles in women at midlife.


Author(s):  
Eliana Portilla-Fernández ◽  
Shih-Jen Hwang ◽  
Rory Wilson ◽  
Jane Maddock ◽  
W. David Hill ◽  
...  

AbstractCommon carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is an index of subclinical atherosclerosis that is associated with ischemic stroke and coronary artery disease (CAD). We undertook a cross-sectional epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of measures of cIMT in 6400 individuals. Mendelian randomization analysis was applied to investigate the potential causal role of DNA methylation in the link between atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk factors and cIMT or clinical cardiovascular disease. The CpG site cg05575921 was associated with cIMT (beta = −0.0264, p value = 3.5 × 10–8) in the discovery panel and was replicated in replication panel (beta = −0.07, p value = 0.005). This CpG is located at chr5:81649347 in the intron 3 of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor gene (AHRR). Our results indicate that DNA methylation at cg05575921 might be in the pathway between smoking, cIMT and stroke. Moreover, in a region-based analysis, 34 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified of which a DMR upstream of ALOX12 showed the strongest association with cIMT (p value = 1.4 × 10–13). In conclusion, our study suggests that DNA methylation may play a role in the link between cardiovascular risk factors, cIMT and clinical cardiovascular disease.


2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 510-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven G. Aldana ◽  
Roger Greenlaw ◽  
Audrey Salberg ◽  
Ray M. Merrill ◽  
Ron Hager ◽  
...  

Purpose. This study evaluated the effect of the Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease on cardiovascular disease as measured by the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery and compared this effect to outcomes from patients participating in traditional cardiac rehabilitation. Design. Randomized clinical trial. Setting. SwedishAmerican Health System. Subjects. Ninety three patients with clinically confirmed coronary artery disease were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 46) or traditional cardiac rehabilitation (n = 47). Intervention. Dr. Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease. Measures. Ultrasound of the carotid artery and other cardiovascular risk factors were measured at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Analysis. Intent-to-treat analysis. Results. There was no significant reduction in the carotid intima-media thickness of the carotid artery in the Ornish group or the cardiac rehabilitation group. Ornish Program participants had significantly improved dietary habits (p < .001), weight (p < .001), and body mass index (p < .001) as compared with the rehabilitation group. The decrease in the number of patients with angina from baseline to 12 months was 44% in Ornish and 12% in cardiac rehabilitation. Conclusions. The Ornish Program appears to causes improvements in cardiovascular risk factors but does not appear to change the atherosclerotic process as it affects the carotid artery.


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