title: Ultrasonic classification of carotid plaques causing less than 60% stenosis according to ultrasound morphology and events.
abstract: Carotid plaque morphology studied by ultrasound has been used to classify 3 types of bifurcation plaques, producing less than 60% stenosis on duplex scanning: Type A, the homogeneous, highly echogenic plaque; Type B, the heterogeneous (mainly echogenic, B-1 or mainly echolucent, B-2) plaque; Type C, the complex plaque with irregular surface, echogenic and/or echolucent with calcifications. One hundred asymptomatic subjects in each plaque group were included in a prospective 4-year follow-up study to evaluate clinical events and brain damage by yearly cerebral CT and MR scans. After four years 96 subjects with type A plaque, 89 with type B-1 and 67 with type C plaques completed the study. While there were no clinical events or positive cerebral scans in subjects with type A plaques there was a significantly increasing number of cerebral and vascular events in subjects with plaque B and C type with a zero mortality in the plaque A group, a 2.24% mortality in type B plaques and a significantly higher (p > 0.05) mortality (13.4%) in type C plaques. CT and MR scans revealed brain damage which had been totally asymptomatic with MR detecting a larger number of lesions. Also the number of cerebral lesions observed by CT/MR were significantly greater than the number of recorded clinical episodes. ECG stress test revealed a larger number of asymptomatic coronary disease in the C type plaques. In conclusion ultrasound plaque morphology is linked to different incidences of cerebral and cardiac events, brain damage and asymptomatic coronary disease. Also CT and MR may reveal lesions which do not cause signs or symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Institute, Chieti University, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Belcaro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Laurora
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Cesarone
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: De Sanctis
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Incandela
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fascetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Geroulakos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ramaswami
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pierangeli
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Nicolaides
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography