Introduction: Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) measurements are widely used to study atherosclerosis. CCA-IMT is a useful outcome measure in clinical studies and intervention trials because it reflects early stages of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk. The present study examined the relationship between common carotid artery intima-media thickness and ischemic brain infarction.
Material and methods: The present study examined the association between CCA-IMT and incidence of ischemic stroke and its subtypes in 75 cases and 21 controls. Cases with internal borderzone infarction (IBI) were consecutively recruited and classified into subtypes using CT and Bamford's classification. It classifies cerebral infarctions regarding vascular territory using clinical features to determine the size and site of infarction. These subtypes included: total anterior circulation infarctions (TACIs), partial anterior circulation infarctions (PACIs), posterior circulation infarctions (POCIs), and lacunar infarctions (LACIs). Controls were recruited among individuals hospitalized at the same institution and matched for age and sex. Patients and control subjects underwent B-mode ultrasonographic measurements of IMT of the far wall of both common carotid arteries.
Results: Of 75 patients with acute ischemic stroke, 10 (14%) were classified as TACIs, 34 (45%) had PACIs, 12 (16%) had POCIs and 19 (25%) had LACIs. Mean CCA-IMT was higher in investigation group (1.03+/-0.18 mm) than in controls (0.85+/-0.18 mm; p<0.0001). The difference in CCA-IMT between investigation group and controls was significant and the relation between CCA-IMT and IBI remained unchanged after adjustments of main cardiovascular risk factors. Regarding the subtypes of IBI, IMT values were significantly higher in patients with TACIs and PACIs versus those with LACIs and POCIs.
Conclusions: An increased CCA-IMT was established in all subtypes of IBI and was significantly higher in those with anterior circulation infarctions versus posterior circulation and lacunar infarctions. This study points to importance of noninvasive measurement of CCA-IMT with ultrasonographic techniques as a diagnostic tool for selecting patients at high risk for IBI and identifying different subtypes of ischemic stroke.