Usefulness of carotid intima-media thickness measurement as an indicator of generalized atherosclerosis: findings from autopsy analysis.

BACKGROUND

Ultrasound-determined carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is widely used as an indicator of generalized atherosclerotic burden, but there are limited autopsy findings in support of the association, directly.

METHODS

We performed an autopsy analysis (n = 111, mean 68.8 years; 65.0% men; 86% non-cardiovascular disease death) to examine the associations of microscopy-determined carotid IMT including plaque thickness with the severity of atherosclerosis in the generalized arteries.

RESULTS

Microscopy-determined carotid IMT was associated with the extent of intima/media layer ratio of the vasculature, a marker of atherosclerosis, in each structure examined, i.e., coronary artery, cerebrovasculature, thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, and iliac artery (R = 0.31-0.42; all P < 0.01). The prevalence of a necrotic core in the coronary artery, cerebrovasculature, thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, and iliac artery increased in accordance with increasing microscopy-determined carotid IMT (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our autopsy analysis confirms the validity of carotid IMT including plaque thickness as an indicator of generalized atherosclerosis.