Clinical study on relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and cerebral infarction in the elderly

Objective To explore the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and cerebral infarction in the elderly Methods With color Doppler ultrasonography, the comparative study in 108 elder cerebral infarction patients and 86 controls age matched and free of stroke and heart diseases was applied to examine the carotid intima media thickness (IMT), plaque structure and the degree of artery stenosis Results The prevalence of carotid plaque in the patients was significantly higher than that in controls (82 41% vs 48 84%, P 0 0001) The rates of soft and ulcerated carotid plaque, the incidence of intima media thickening in common carotid and the incidence of moderate (50%~70%) and severe (70%) stenosis in carotid were significantly higher in patients compared with controls Conclusions The carotid plaque type, IMT and the degree of stenosis were positively related to cerebral infarction in the elderly