Micieli G, Cavallini A, Bosone D, Poli M, Nappi G
Stroke Unit, C. Mondino Institute of Neurology, University of Pavia, Italy.
Funct Neurol. 1998 Jan-Mar;13(1):27-35.
The prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis in the general population is variable. Also, the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and carotid atherosclerosis has yet to be clearly defined. We carried out a cross-sectional study of 441 asymptomatic male subjects to investigate possible relationships between extracranial carotid plaques, cardiovascular risk factors and asymptomatic coronary obstructive disease. Carotid atheromatous plaques, detected by means of B-mode ultrasonography, were present in 31.7% of the study population. Prevalence and severity of atherosclerosis were significantly correlated with age, total cholesterol and signs of ischemia upon exercise stress test. However, hypercholesterolemia seemed to play a significant pathogenic role only in the youngest subjects (<55 years old). Our study confirms the high prevalence of asymptomatic carotid plaques in the general population, especially in elderly subjects. The only reversible risk factor related to carotid atherosclerosis is hypercholesterolemia, and this is reversible only at a young age.
普通人群中颈动脉粥样硬化的患病率各不相同。此外，心血管危险因素与颈动脉粥样硬化之间的关系尚未明确界定。我们对441名无症状男性受试者进行了一项横断面研究，以调查颅外颈动脉斑块、心血管危险因素与无症状性冠状动脉阻塞性疾病之间的可能关系。通过B型超声检查发现，31.7%的研究人群存在颈动脉粥样斑块。动脉粥样硬化的患病率和严重程度与年龄、总胆固醇以及运动应激试验中的缺血迹象显著相关。然而，高胆固醇血症似乎仅在最年轻的受试者（<55岁）中发挥显著的致病作用。我们的研究证实了普通人群中无症状颈动脉斑块的高患病率，尤其是在老年受试者中。与颈动脉粥样硬化相关的唯一可逆转危险因素是高胆固醇血症，而且这仅在年轻时可逆转。
