Increased carotid intima-media thickness in children-adolescents, and young adults with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction.
OBJECTIVE
The present study was designed to test whether early carotid structural changes are demonstrable (by high resolution B-mode ultrasound) in children, adolescents and young adults with a history of premature parental myocardial infarction.


RESULTS
One hundred and fourteen healthy young (5 to 30 years) subjects with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction and 114 age- and sex-matched control subjects were enrolled in the study. They were divided into two age groups: children and adolescents (age 5 to 18 years) (54 individuals with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction and their control subjects; mean age 12.8+/-3.8 years) and young adults (age 19 to 30 years) (60 individuals with a parental history and their controls; mean age 23.8+/-3.3 years). All subjects underwent high resolution B-mode ultrasonographic evaluation of common carotid artery intima-media thickness. Lipid profile, resting blood pressure, body mass index and smoking status were also evaluated. In both age groups, compared to controls, subjects with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction had increased intima-media thickness of common carotid arteries (mean of combined sites: age 5-18 years: 0.45+/-0.076 mm vs 0.40+/-0.066 mm in controls, P=0.008; age 19-30 years: 0.48+/-0.077 mm vs 0.45+/-0.078 mm in controls,P =0.007) Offspring of coronary patients showed an unfavourable lipid profile, however, the association between a parental history of premature myocardial infarction and carotid intima-media thickness was independent of lipids, apolipoproteins and other traditional risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Vascular structural changes associated with a parental history of premature myocardial infarction are already detectable in childhood and adolescence and occur independently of several traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
Cardiology Division, A. Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy.
S
S
Cuomo
P
P
Guarini
G
G
Gaeta
M
M
De Michele
F
F
Boeri
J
J
Dorn
M
M
Bond
M
M
Trevisan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010290:Parents; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography