Atherosclerosis causes the vast majority of adverse cardiovascular events. Non-invasive imaging of asymptomatic atherosclerosis can contribute to reclassifying cardiovascular risk (CVR) and early initiation of non-pharmacological and pharmacological cardiovascular prophylaxis.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the detection rate of atherosclerosis of carotid and lower extremity arteries in patients 40-64 years of age with different cardiovascular risks.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
All patients underwent duplex scanning of carotid and lower extremity arteries.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The study included 496 patients, 247 (49.7%) males and 249 (50.3%) females, with a median age of 53.0 (45.0; 58.0) years. Carotid atherosclerotic plaques (ASPs) were detected in more than 50% of patients with low CVR and 76.4% with moderate CVR. ASPs in the lower extremity arteries were significantly less common (57.8% vs. 73.8%) than in the carotid arteries, especially in patients with low CVR (23.5% vs. 54.1%). As the CVR increased, there was an increase in the percentage of individuals with ASPs in the two vascular systems. Among patients with low CVR, at least one vascular system showed ASPs in 65.3%. The involvement rate of one and two vascular systems was similar in males and females with low and moderate CVR. As the CVR increased, a predominance of multifocal involvement was noted in male patients, becoming statistically significant in patients with high CVR.
CONCLUSION
In patients aged 40—64 years with low and moderate cardiovascular risk, the involvement of at least one vascular system was detected in 65.2% and 88.5% of cases, respectively. There were no significant differences between patients with moderate and high cardiovascular risk in the incidence of carotid artery disease, lower extremity artery disease, and multifocal disease. Males at high cardiovascular risk were more likely than females to have multifocal peripheral arterial disease (76.3% vs. 34.9%, respectively; p<0.0001).
