title: Concomitant carotid plaque development and brachial artery diameter enlargement: a retrospective, recall-based study in postmenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To verify if the carotid plaque development is concomitant to brachial artery diameter enlargement, in healthy postmenopausal women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This is a retrospective, recall study. We enrolled 40 postmenopausal women, selected from a database for the period 2000-2008, not affected by subclinical carotid atherosclerosis and without risk factors for cardiovascular disease. At the recall visit, carotid and brachial duplex scan was again obtained. The incidence of plaque was 30% after a mean follow-up period of 60 months. There were no differences in baseline characteristics between subjects developing carotid atherosclerosis and subjects who did not, except for the brachial diameter change, follow-up and heart rate. The logistic-regression analysis confirmed that only brachial diameter change resulted to be correlated with the development of carotid atherosclerosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Brachial artery diameter increase is concomitant to carotid plaque development. Vascular enlargement could not be a focal change but a systemic process associated with atherosclerotic plaque development. Brachial diameter could be a tool with a predictive significance.
authors: Clinical Nutrition Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy. tmontalcini@unicz.it
authors: Tiziana
authors: T
authors: Montalcini
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Gorgone
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Gazzaruso
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Pujia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017698:Postmenopause; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D044465:White People