Study of ultrasound examination in carotid arteries of hypertension patients

Objective To study the ultrasonic characteristics of the carotid artery atherosclerosis in patients with hypertension, and discuss the relationship between the degree of carotid artery atherosclerosis and the level of high sensitive-C-Reactive-Protein (hs-CRP). Methods Color doppler ultrasonography of carotid arteries were used to exam 140 cases of hypertension patients (the first grade group 44,the second grade group 84,the third grade group 12) and for 24 cases of healthy volunteers as the control group. Results Among the hypertension group, intima-media thickness of common carotid artery (CAIMT) is thicker and carotid diameter (CADIA) is getting widening while the hypertension is getting worse. Also, the hs-CRP, TC(total cholesterol), TG(triglyceridemia), BG(blood glucose) was higher in the hypertension than that in the control group. The rates of carotid atherosclerotic plaques of hypertension were higher than that in the control group. Hs-CRP was positive correlated with the number of the plaques. Conclusion Hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and high blood glucose combined with the hs-CRP had effects on the progress of atherosclerosis. The early examination and diagnostic of atherosclerosis are helpful to predict and prevent the complication.