Association Between Carotid Artery Perivascular Fat Density and Intraplaque Hemorrhage

Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

Shuai Zhang¹  Ximing Wang²  Xinxin Yu²  Bing Kang²  Hui Gu²  Xianshun Yuan² 

[1] School of Medicine, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China;Shandong Provincial Hospital Affliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China;

关键词: atherosclerosis;    carotid artery;    intraplaque hemorrhage;    perivascular fat;    inflammation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fcvm.2021.735794

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Objectives: Perivascular adipose tissue plays a key role in atherosclerosis, but its effects on the composition of carotid atherosclerotic plaques are unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between inflammatory carotid artery and intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) in the carotid artery.Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study. Carotid inflammation was assessed by perivascular fat density (PFD) in 72 participants (mean age, 65.1 years; 56 men) who underwent both computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 2 weeks. The presence of IPH was assessed with MRI. Carotid stenosis, maximum plaque thickness, calcification, and ulceration were evaluated through CTA. The association between PFD and the occurrence of IPH was studied using generalized estimating equations analysis.Results: Of 156 plaques, 72 plaques (46.2%) had IPH. Plaques with IPH showed higher PFD than those without [−41.4 ± 3.9 vs. −55.8 ± 6.5 Hounsfield unit (HU); p < 0.001]. After age, calcification, degree of stenosis, maximum plaque thickness, and ulceration were adjusted for, PFD (OR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.41–2.73; p < 0.001) was found to be strongly associated with the presence of IPH.Conclusions: A higher PFD is associated with the presence of IPH in the carotid artery. These findings may provide a novel marker to identify carotid IPH and risk stratification.

【 授权许可】

Unknown