High-risk features of basilar artery atherosclerotic plaque

Shaojun Li; Jiana Wei; Ruiyun Huang; Chenghao Li; Hongbing Chen; Zhihua Qiu; Yongjun Jiang; Li Wu

doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.1019036

High-risk features of basilar artery atherosclerotic plaque

Front Neurol. 2022 Oct 28:13:1019036. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1019036. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shaojun Li¹, Jiana Wei¹, Ruiyun Huang¹, Chenghao Li¹, Hongbing Chen², Zhihua Qiu¹, Yongjun Jiang¹, Li Wu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Introduction: High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) is used to characterize atherosclerotic plaque. The present study aimed to determine the high-risk features of the basilar artery (BA) atherosclerotic plaque.

Methods: Patients with advanced BA stenosis were screened. The features including the ruptured fibrous cap (RFC), lipid core, intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH), plaque enhancement, and calcification were assessed by using high-resolution MRI. The relationship between the features and acute infarction was analyzed.

Results: From 1 June 2014 to 31 December 2018, a total of 143 patients with 76 new strokes were included. RFC was identified in 25% of symptomatic and 10.4% of asymptomatic patients. IPH was identified in 48.7% of symptomatic and 25.4% of asymptomatic patients. RFC (3.157, 95% CI 1.062 to 9.382, p = 0.039) and IPH (2.78, 95% CI 1.127 to 6.505, p = 0.026) were independent risk factors for acute infarction.

Conclusion: Our study showed that RFC and IPH of BA plaque were independent risk factors for acute infarction.

Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque; basilar artery stenosis; high-resolution MRI; intraplaque hemorrhage; ruptured fibrous cap.