Increased carotid plaque burden in patients with family medical history of premature cardiovascular events in the absence of classical risk factors

The aim of the study was to research the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis markers and ultrasound parameters of Achilles tendons (AT). The study included 150 patients at high and very high cardiovascular risk (CVR). All patients underwent a carotid ultrasound scanning. We evaluated carotid plaque, carotid plaque score (cPS), carotid total plaque area (cTPA), and the percentage of stenosis. All patients underwent AT ultrasound with an assessment of thickness (Achilles tendon thickness [ATT]), width (Achilles tendon width), and cross-sectional area. An increase in the ATT ≥5.07 mm was associated with a 4.55-fold increase in the relative risk of carotid atherosclerosis (sensitivity 68.3% and specificity 62.5%). Direct correlations between the ATT and carotid stenosis ( r = 0.277; P = .004), cPS ( r = 0.225; P = .035), and cTPA ( r = 0.305; P = .004) were determined. An increase in the mean ATT by 1 mm was associated with an increase in cTPA by 8.09 mm2 (95% CI: 2.26-13.9; P = .007) and carotid stenosis by 4.11% (95% CI: 0.64-7.60; P = .021). Thus, in patients with high and very high CVR, an increase in ATT is an independent predictor of carotid atherosclerosis. The ATT directly correlates with the markers of carotid plaque burden.

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“…These measurements were performed for each visualized plaque, followed by the calculation of the total value. 12,13…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achilles Tendon Thickness Is an Independent Predictor of Carotid Atherosclerosis and Is Associated With a Carotid Plaque Burden

et al. 2020

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“…2,3 Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process characterized by thickening and hardening of the vascular walls. 4 Local vascular damage, inflammation and oxidative stress are respectively plays a role in this pathology. Vascular endothelial injury is the first step of the process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of statin on atherosclerosis of ascending aorta in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

Yeşiltaş

Haberal²,

Koyuncu

et al. 2021

Asian J Med Sci

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Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory process characterized by thickening and hardening of the vascular walls. In many studies, the effect of statin therapy on atherosclerosis has been investigated. The effect of statins on slowing the atherosclerotic process and its clinical results have been revealed. Aims and Objective: The aims of the study was to investigate the protection of statin in the ascending aorta. Materials and Methods: The current study examined the presence of atherosclerosis by means of histopathologic evaluation of the tissues which sampled from ascending aorta during the CABG. These two groups of patients were evaluated in terms of the laboratory tests and the presence of atherosclerosis. Results: There were 43 male (89.6%), and 5 female (10.4%) patients between 39 and 81 years of age were included in the study. There were no statistically significant difference between the patients’ preoperative cardiovascular risk assessments. It was observed that the LDL value of the group using statin was 56 ± 13.66 mg / dl, and the group that did not use was 57 ± 12.97 mg / dl. There were 6 patients (30%) in the statin group and 8 patients (28.6%) in the other group that did not use statin. There were no statistically significant difference in term of atherosclerosis between two groups. Conclusion: We evaluated the atherosclerosis of ascending aorta in patients using and not using statin. Even though there were no difference in atherosclerosis in large-scale vascular structures with higher flow rates such as ascending aorta, we think that statin reduces possible aortic pathologies by stabilizing the atherosclerotic plaque and reducing the shear stress.

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“…Reportedly, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, alcohol consumption, obesity, and smoking are the traditional independent risk factors for the progression of CAP [5]. In addition to class risk factor, premature cardiovascular events are found to be related with increased atherosclerotic burden and carotid total plaque area, as well as CAP progression [6,7]. Recently, the enhanced level of homocysteine, as non-traditional factor of CAP development, has aroused greater attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The underlying mechanisms of FGF2 in carotid atherosclerotic plaque development revealed by bioinformatics analysis

Wang

Dong

et al. 2021

Arch Med Sci

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IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to explore the regulatory mechanisms of FGF2 on carotid atherosclerotic plaque development using bioinformatics analysis.Material and methodsExpression profiles of 32 atheroma plaque (AP) and 32 paired distant macroscopically intact (DMI) tissues samples in GSE43292 dataset were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Following identification of differential expression genes (DEGs), correlation analysis of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and DEGs was conducted. Subsequently, functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network for FGF2 significantly correlated DEGs were constructed. Then, microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulated FGF2 and regulatory pairs of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)-miRNA were predicted to construct lncRNA-miRNA-FGF2 network.ResultsA total of 101 DEGs between AP and DMI samples were identified, and 31 DEGs were analyzed to have coexpression relationships with FGF2, including 23 positively correlated and 8 negatively correlated DEGs. VAV3 had the lowest r value among all FGF2 negatively correlated DEGs. FGF2 positively correlated DEGs was closely related to “regulation of smooth muscle contraction” [eg., Calponin 1 (CNN1)], while FGF2 negatively correlated DEGs was significantly associated with “platelet activation” [eg., Vav Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor 3 (VAV3)]. In addition, totally 12 miRNAs that regulated FGF2 were predicted, and hsa-miR-15a-5p and hsa-miR-16-5p were highlighted in lncRNA-miRNA-FGF2 regulatory network.ConclusionsCNN1 might cooperate with FGF2 to regulate smooth muscle contractility during CAP formation. VAV3 might cooperate with FGF2 to be responsible for the development of CAP through participating in platelet activation. Hsa-miR-15a-5p and hsa-miR-16-5p might participate in the development of CAP via regulating FGF2.

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Increased carotid plaque burden in patients with family medical history of premature cardiovascular events in the absence of classical risk factors

Cited by 4 publications

References 61 publications

Achilles Tendon Thickness Is an Independent Predictor of Carotid Atherosclerosis and Is Associated With a Carotid Plaque Burden

Achilles Tendon Thickness Is an Independent Predictor of Carotid Atherosclerosis and Is Associated With a Carotid Plaque Burden

Effects of statin on atherosclerosis of ascending aorta in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

The underlying mechanisms of FGF2 in carotid atherosclerotic plaque development revealed by bioinformatics analysis

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