Coronary and carotid imaging of atherosclerosis and contributing factors in middle‐aged people with long‐term cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord injuries

Abstract

IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death in people aging with spinal cord injury (SCI), and is predominantly caused by atherosclerosis, however, knowledge of atherosclerosis in people with SCI is scarce.ObjectiveTo describe coronary and carotid atherosclerosis in middle‐aged people with long‐term cervical and upper thoracic SCI using coronary computed tomography angiography, carotid ultrasound, and CVD risk factors, and to compare with the general population.DesignCross‐sectional study with matched controls.SettingOutpatient SCI unit in southern Sweden.ParticipantsParticipants (n=25) in the Swedish SPinal Cord Injury Study on Cardiopulmonary and Autonomic Impairment (SPICA) (20% women, mean age 58 years, mean time since injury 28 years, injury levels C2‐T6, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A‐C). Non‐SCI controls (n=125; ratio 5:1) from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS).InterventionsNot applicableMain Outcome MeasuresPresence of coronary atherosclerosis, coronary artery calcium score (CACS), carotid plaques, carotid intima media thickness, blood pressure, lipids, Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) and anthropometry.ResultsCoronary and carotid atherosclerotic plaques occurred in 44% of the participants, 67% of the controls exhibited coronary and 59% carotid plaques; odds ratios (OR; 95% CI): 0.38 (0.13‐1.17) and 0.54 (0.22‐1.32), respectively. Mean number of segments with coronary atherosclerosis were 1.0 in participants and 2.1 in controls (OR: 0.74 [0.52‐1.06]). CACS >100 occurred in 4 (18%) of the participants and 23 (21%) of the controls. The participants had significantly lower levels of total and non‐high density lipoprotein cholesterol and SCORE than the controls.ConclusionsThis is the first comprehensive assessment of atherosclerosis in people with SCI using advanced imaging techniques. The atherosclerotic burden in middle‐aged people with long‐term cervical and upper thoracic SCI was not increased, whereas SCORE was lower due to lower cholesterol levels. Imaging techniques may be valuable tools for assessment of atherosclerosis in SCI.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.