Internal Carotid Artery Angle of Origin

Abstract

Background and Purpose-Established "systemic" vascular risk factors do not fully explain the occurrence of atherosclerosis at the carotid bifurcation. Local anatomic and hemodynamic factors may also influence the initiation of the atherosclerotic process. We determined whether the angle of internal carotid artery (ICA) origin is a risk factor for early atherosclerosis. Methods-In 1300 individuals from a normal population aged 40 to 70 years, we measured both carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) at 3 arterial sites (common carotid artery; carotid bifurcation; ICA bulb) and the presence of any atherosclerotic plaque within the ICA bulb bilaterally by means of high-resolution ultrasound. A standardized transverse insonation was used to determine the angle of ICA origin, expressed as the angle of rotation relative to the external carotid artery. Results-This

Carotid Artery Anatomy and Geometry as Risk Factors for Carotid Atherosclerotic Disease

“…In this study, we have not been able to replicate a previous observation regarding the an independent association between ICA-ECA angle and plaque. 12 A major difference between that study and ours is the use of different imaging modality between the 2 studies and different outcome measures (plaque versus arterial stenosis).…”

“…Tortuosity of the CCA or ICA was defined as the ratio between the length of a straight line drawn between vessel end points and the actual length of the vessel. The ICA angle of origin 12 (named as the ICA-ECA angle in this study to avoid confusion with the ICA angle) describes a line connecting the centers of the lumen of the ICA and the ECA relative to the horizontal line drawn by the plane of the ultrasound probe. In this study, we used 3-dimensional reconstruction of the arterial geometry to standardize the measurement of the ICA-ECA angle.…”

Fractalkine Receptor/Ligand Genetic Variants and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness

“…Details on the CAPS and 3C populations, clinical variables, and ultrasound protocols have been published previously 3,4 (supplemental data, available online at http://stroke.ahajournals.org). The present analysis comprised 2763 and 6049 community individuals for CAPS and 3C, respectively.…”

“…3,4 The major differences were that in 3C IMT was measured in CCA without carotid plaque, and plaque was defined by a smaller cut-off (1 mm). However, removing subjects with plaque from the analysis with IMT, or using IMT-values Ն1 mm in any location to define plaque in CAPS, yielded similar results.…”

“…2 We determined associations, including gene-environment interactions, of CX3CL1 and CX3CR1 genetic variants with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque in a community population of middle-aged German subjects, the Carotid Atherosclerosis Progression Study (CAPS). 3 Subsequently we assessed whether positive results could be replicated in a population-based sample of elderly French subjects, the Three-City Study (3C). 4 …”