title: [Carotid plaque characteristics detected with 3.0T high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance imaging in patients with coronary artery disease].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the value of detecting the compositional features of carotid atherosclerotic plaques by 3.0T high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive 104 patients with coronary atherosclerosis confirmed by coronary angiography were prospectively recruited from January 2013 to January 2015 in Tiantan hospital. All patients were imaged with 3.0T high resolution MRI system. After exclusion patients with poor image quality, 97 patients were divided into 3 groups according to the degree of coronary artery stenosis: coronary atherosclerosis group (coronary stenosis between 1%-49%, n=16); single-vessel lesion group (single vessel lesion with stenosis between 50%-100%, n=48); multi-vessel lesion group (two or three vessel lesions with stenosis between 50%-100% or left main stem disease, n=33). The prevalence of total carotid plaque, calcified plaque, lipid-rich necrotic core, intra-plaque hemorrhage, plaque ulcer and rupture were compared among 3 groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of total carotid plaque (81.3%(13/16), 72.9%(35/48), and 93.9%(31/33)) and calcified plaque (50.0%(8/16), 35.4%(17/48), and 42.4%(14/33)) were similar among the 3 groups (both P>0.05). The prevalence of carotid lipid-rich necrotic core in coronary atherosclerosis group was significantly lower than in single-vessel lesion group (18.8%(3/16) vs. 64.6%(31/48), P<0.01) and multi-vessel lesion group(18.8%(3/16) vs. 69.7%(23/33), P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between single-vessel lesion group and multi-vessel lesion group(P>0.05). Intra-plaque hemorrhage was detected in 2 patients of multi-vessel lesion group. There was no plaque ulcer or rupture in this cohort.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Carotid plaque features are associated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis in CAD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Changpeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Dezhao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Caixia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Junping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Binbin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Buxing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D003324:Coronary Artery Disease; D006470:Hemorrhage; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009336:Necrosis; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies