Identification by ultrasound evaluation of the carotid and femoral arteries of high-risk subjects missed by three validated cardiovascular disease risk algorithms.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events are the leading cause of death in the United States and globally. Traditional global risk algorithms may miss 50% of patients who experience ASCVD events. Noninvasive ultrasound evaluation of the carotid and femoral arteries can identify subjects at high risk for ASCVD events.

Variations in atherosclerosis and remodeling patterns in aorta and carotids.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease that causes vascular remodeling that can be positive or negative. The evolution of arterial wall thickening and changes in lumen size under current "standard of care" in different arterial beds is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine arterial remodeling and progression/regression of atherosclerosis in aorta and carotid arteries of individuals at risk for atherosclerosis normalized over a 1-year period.

Prevalence and distribution of sub-clinical atherosclerosis by screening vascular ultrasound in low and intermediate risk adults: the New York physicians study.

Background: Many persons experiencing cardiovascular disease (CVD) events are not at high calculated CVD risk by Framingham risk score. The identification of carotid and femoral plaque has been associated with CVD events. In this study, the prevalence of plaques in adults at low and intermediate risk was examined.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance parameters of atherosclerotic plaque burden improve discrimination of prior major adverse cardiovascular events.

Aims: Patients with prior major cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events (MACE) are more likely to have future recurrent events independent of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine if patients with traditional risk factors and prior MACE had increased cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) plaque burden measures compared to patients with risk factors but no prior events.

Methods And Results: Black blood carotid and thoracic aorta images were obtained from 195 patients using a rapid extended coverage turbo spin echo sequence.

Cross-sectional, prospective study of MRI reproducibility in the assessment of plaque burden of the carotid arteries and aorta.

Background: The reliability of imaging techniques to assess early atherosclerosis remains unclear. We did a cross-sectional, prospective study to test reproducibility of MRI when imaging arteries, to assess risk of cardiovascular disease and correlations with age and sex.

Methods: Between January 2003 and December 2006 we performed black-blood MRI of both common carotid arteries and the thoracic descending aorta in patients with cardiovascular risk factors who were referred from clinics in New York, NY, USA.

Carotid black blood MRI burden of atherosclerotic disease assessment correlates with ultrasound intima-media thickness.

The aim of this study was to correlate carotid black blood MRI based measurements with those obtained by ultrasound intima-media thickness (IMT). Seventeen patients with intermediate to high Framingham cardiovascular risk score underwent both carotid ultrasound and rapid extended coverage double inversion recovery black blood carotid MRI. Overall, there was good correlation between wall area, wall thickness, and plaque index measured by MRI and the IMT measurements obtained from the ultrasound images (max r2 = 0.