engleski

Artery plaque score and arterial hypertension

Introduction: Atherosclerotic plaque is the primary pathomorphologic manifestation of atherosclerosis, where the thickness of intima and media, is 1.3mm and more. Ultrasonography of carotid arteries is an accessible and safe method in plaque detection. Plaque score (PlaS) is a sum of thicknesses of registered plaques in a precisely defined region of carotid arteries, and it is significant because of its correlation with some subtypes of cerebrovascular insult and some lesions of coronary arteries. Aim: The aim of study is to identify the intensity of atherosclerotic plaque in a population of age 50 to 59, in dependance of presence of arterial hypertension or additional risk factor, from atherosclerosis risk factors category (hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, tobacco). Methods: The study included 148 examinees (79 women, 69 men) from age 50 to 59. From the total number of participants, 66 of them had no risk factors (32 women, 34 men), and they were the control group. 28 participants had hypertension only (16 women, 12 men), while 53 examinees had at least one more major risk factor besides hypertension (31 women, 22 men). Ultrasonic carotid arteries exam in B mode, was made with standard protocol. Intensity of atherosclerotic disease of carotid arteries was evaluated with a modified PlaS in 6 categories (0–5). Results: Control group had average plaque thickness of 0.75mm (men), and 0.18 (women) (average PlaS 0.4 and 0.1). Participants with isolated hypertension had plaque thickness 2.58mm (men), and 2.47mm (women), (PlaS 1.3 for both), while those with additional risk factors measured 4.93mm (men), 3.11mm (women). Healthy participants had plaque in 18.2%, those with hypertension in 78.6%, while those with additional risk factors in 96.3%. Conclusion: By using a noninvasive and accessible method of carotid ultrasonography, it is possible to detect the thickness of plaque, and in that way, to recognize the risk groups for atherosclerotic diseases.

atherosclerotic plaque ; arterial hypertension ; ultrasonography

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