Preliminary Study on the Correlation between Carotid Atherosclerosis and Cerebral Infarction

Objective To investigate the risk factors of atherosclerotic plaques and an increased intima-media thickness (IMT) in the carotid artery and to clarify the relationship between IMT or/and plaque and cerebral infarction.Methods B-mode ultrasonographic techniques were used to measure the plaques and IMT of the carotid artery in 284 cases including conscious hospitalized patients with CI and patients without cerebrovascular disease.Results By Logistic regression analysis, we found carotid plaque increased progressively with age(P=0.000).It was correlated to high blood pressure, diabetes and increased fibrinogen level (P0.05). No relationship was found between plaque and blood sugar and blood lipid levels. There was no significant difference between plaque group and no plaque group in smoking, drinking, gender and ischemic change of EKG. IMT of common carotid artery (CCA) and internal carotid artery (ICA) was significantly thicker and the incidence of carotid plaque in CI group was significantly higher than that in the control.Conclusion Increased CA?IMT and plaque are important risk factors of CI and many factors are contributed to them.