Background: Several studies have shown that increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) confers risk of future coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke. The present study aimed at investigating whether CIMT is a predictor of CAD in South African black patients.
Methods and results: This was a prospective study of 53 patients, 41 men and 12 women, with ages ranging from 30 to 70 years. All patients had undergone coronary angiography for suspected CAD. B-mode ultrasound measurement of the carotid intima-media thickness was carried out in all patients, the operator being blinded to the coronary angiography findings. Twenty-nine of the 38 (76%) subjects with established CAD had increased CIMT, with an average mean CIMT of 1.13 mm. Single-vessel disease was present in 12 people, double-vessel disease in 11 and triple-vessel disease in 12. There was a significant positive linear trend between CIMT and the number of involved coronary vessels (p < 0.0001, r = 0.44).
Conclusions: Increased CIMT correlated with evidence of angiographically proven CAD. The median percentile scores showed a progressive increase as the number of vessels involved increased. CIMT could be useful as a screening tool for the presence of CAD in the South African black population.