Summary
The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the arterial wall, measured by B-mode ultrasonography,
has been related to cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis in many studies, most
of which have considered carotid and common femoral arteries. No study has related
the IMT of medium-sized arteries (e.g. brachial) to the atherosclerotic process. The
aim of this study was to evaluate whether more peripheral arteries (e.g. brachial,
superficial femoral and popliteal) represent a good model in studies of arterial wall
IMT, as well as carotid artery. Twenty-six male patients with demonstrated coronary
artery disease (median age 63 yrs; range 41–70) and twenty-four male controls (median
age 62 yrs; range 53–74) were studied. The far-wall IMT of the common carotid, brachial,
superficial femoral and popliteal arteries was measured by high-resolution B-mode
ultrasonography. Its relationship with ischemic cardiovascular disease and the presence
of atherosclerotic plaques in all the arteries was also evaluated. Mean IMT values
were higher in patients than controls, more so in superficial femoral artery (IMT
difference 0.08 mm [95% confidence interval 0.02 – 0.14]) and popliteal artery (0.08
[0.01–0.15]) than in common carotid artery (0.02 [−0.070.11]) or brachial artery (0.01[−0.01–0.03]).
The difference did not change after adjustment for age. The prevalence of plaques
was consistently higher in patients than controls, except for brachial artery, in
which no plaque was found either in patients and controls. In all the arteries except
brachial we found an association between increase in IMT and number of plaques. Age
was strongly related to the presence of plaques in the carotid artery, and less markedly
in superficial femoral and popliteal arteries.
The brachial artery does not seem a good model to study atherosclerosis by ultrasound
measurements of arterial IMT, whereas superficial femoral and popliteal arteries might
be chosen for these studies besides carotid artery.
Keywords
Intima-media thickness - medium-sized arteries - B-mode ultrasound - atherosclerosis