Objective: The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery is dependent on the risk factor load during life and correlates well with the degree of atherosclerosis, also in other vascular beds.
Methods: We reviewed our database of IMT measurements, from January 2002 to February 2007. We compared the mean IMT values of patients without a history of coronary artery disease (group 1) with those with a history of coronary artery disease (group 2). For both groups we divided the results of measurements according to age. We compared the IMT between both groups and looked for a correlation with increasing age. The IMT was measured with high-resolution echography at the posterior wall of the common carotid artery, using an automated edge-tracking method.
Results: The database contained 598 IMT measurements in group 1 and 672 in group 2. In both groups we observed a significant increase in IMT with increasing age. Within a certain age group, a significant difference in IMT between group 1 and 2 occurred at an age of 40 years or above (age 40-65: IMT 645.54 versus 671.71 microm, respectively, P = 0.04, and age > 65 years: IMT 715.2 versus 772.91 microm, respectively, P = 0.01).
Conclusions: IMT increases with age and is higher in patients with a history of vascular disease. This difference is significant in patients of 40 years or older. This finding supports the recommendations of the prevention conference of the American Heart Association, that carefully performed IMT measurement can add incremental information to traditional risk factor assessment in asymptomatic individuals above the age of 45 years.