Study on Relationship between Carotid Artery Atherosclerosis and Serum CRP in Elderly Hypertensive Patients

Objective To study the relationship between carotid artery atherosclerosis and serum C-reactive protein(CRP) in elderly patients with essential hypertension. Methods 100 hypertensive patients(mean age 73±7 years), including 93 males and 7 females were enrolled in this study. Colour Doppler ultrasonography was used to measure intima-media thickness(IMT) and atherosclerotic plaque of carotid arteries. Serum CRP was determined with immunological method. The relationship between the result of ultrasonography and CRP concentration was analyzed. Results CRP concentration was positively correlated with IMT(P0.05). IMT had an increasing trend with the severity of hypertension, and was significantly different among various grades of hypertension(P0.05). CRP concentration in the patients with atherosclerotic plaque was higher than that in the patients without one(P0.05). Conclusion CRP concentration was positively correlated with IMT and degree of atherosclerotic plaque in elderly patients with essential hypertension. CRP was helpful for evaluating the severity of atherosclerosis, guiding treatment and predicting prognosis.