THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS AND CAROTID STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Junlin Zhong^{1, #}, Min Pan^{2, #}, Lili Niu^{2, #}, Yang Xiao², Hui Zhang¹, Long Meng², Yanling Zhang^{1, *}

¹Department of Ultrasound, Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, Guangdong, China - ²Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518000, Guangdong, China

Introduction: Previous study found that carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), arterial elasticity and plaque size would be changed during atherosclerosis development, indicating that the association between cardiovascular events and carotid structural and functional characteristics may be of significance in the clinic. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the integration of carotid Young’s modulus (YM), Young’s modulus standard deviation (YM-std), CIMT), and presence/absence of plaque can promote the risk of cardiovascular event (CVE). 

Materials and methods: Seventy-eight patients with CVE (age 62.85±9.23 years) and seventy-five patients at risk of atherosclerosis (age 63.49±5.95 years) were assessed in this study. Ultrasonic texture matching method was used to calculate the carotid YM and YM-std. CIMT was measured by MyLab 90 Ultrasound Platform employed dedicated software RF-tracking technology. 

Results: YM in CVE patients was significantly higher than that in control group (p=0.022). YM had significantly positive correlation with CIMT (rs=0.226, p=0.005). By unvaried analysis, plaque (p=0.0001) and YM-std (p=0.015) were demonstrated to have significantly positive ORs. Whereas YM (p=0.009), YM-std plus plaque (p=0.019) were associated with reduced ORs for CVE. When examining the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC), YM-std plus CIMT plus plaque improved the AUC significantly. Compared with single factor models, (YM-std + CIMT + plaque) model was demonstrated to have significant rises in ORs, which showed increase from 0.64 (plaque only) to 0.70, from 0.55 (CIMT only) to 0.70, from 0.61 (YM only) to 0.70, and from 0.55 (YM-std only) to 0.70.

Conclusion: Comprehensive consideration of structural and functional characteristics, such as model of YM-std coupled with CIMT and presence/absence of plaque, may improve risk prediction of cardiovascular events.