Atherosclerotic changes in common carotid artery, common femoral artery, and ascending aorta/aortic arch in candidates for coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

We assessed the association between common carotid and common femoral artery intima-media thickness (ccIMT and cfIMT, respectively), histopathologic severity of atherosclerosis in the ascending aorta/aortic arch, and the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) in 150 candidates for elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). One-, 2-, and 3-vessel diseases were present in 20%, 25.9%, and 54.1%, respectively. Although no significant relationship was present between the ccIMT and the number of occluded coronary vessels (P = .41), both the cfIMT and severity of atherosclerosis in the ascending aorta/aortic arch were predictive of more extensive CAD (P = .03 and .01, respectively). Neither the ccIMT nor the cfIMT was correlated with the severity of aortic atherosclerosis (P = .81 and .63, respectively). In conclusion, both cfIMT and atherosclerosis of ascending aorta/aortic arch are independent predictors of CAD extent. However, interrelationships between these 2 variables as well as the ccIMT are complex in CABG candidates.