Increased carotid intima-media thickness as a predictor of the presence and extent of abnormal myocardial perfusion in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Identification of asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes at increased risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) remains a challenge. We evaluated the potential of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) for prediction of abnormal myocardial perfusion in this population.

Research Design And Methods: CIMT and SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging were assessed in 98 asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes. An increased CIMT was defined as > or =75th percentile of reference values. RESULTS Increased CIMT was an independent predictor of the extent of abnormal perfusion (P < 0.001). In patients with increased CIMT as compared with patients with normal CIMT, abnormal perfusion (75 vs. 9%) and severely abnormal perfusion (28 vs. 3%) were observed more frequently.

Conclusions: Increased CIMT was significantly related to the presence and extent of abnormal myocardial perfusion. Assessment of CIMT may be useful to identify asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes at higher risk for CAD.