The Clinical Study Of The Relationship Between Carotid Atherosclerosis And Cerebral Infarction

Objective: To study the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and cerebral infarction. Methods: We analyzed the color dopplor ultrasonography data of carotid arteries of 147 cerebral infarction patients (cerebral infarction group, including 34 atherosclerotic cerebral infarction patients and 113 lacunar infarction patients) and 48 non-cerebrovascular patients (control group), and compared the severity of carotid atherosclerosis and characteristic of carotid plaque between two groups. In the study, 1.0mm≤IMT (intima-media thickness) < 1.5mm as the diagnostic criteria of thickened carotid intima and IMT≥1.5mm as the diagnostic criteria of carotid plaque were adopted. The severity of carotid atherosclerosis was divided into: normal intima, thickened intima, and plaque formation three levels. According to the characteristic of ultrasound echo, the carotid plaques were divided into hard plaques (displayed as hyperecho or with acoustic shadowing) and soft plaques ( displayed as isoecho or hypoecho). Results: The cerebral infarction group and the control group consisted of patients with normal carotid intima / with thickened carotid intima / with carotid plaque accounting for 24.49% (36/147),14.97% (22/147),60.54% (89/147), and 45.83% (22/48),8.33% (4/48),45.83% (22/48), respectively. The severity of carotid atherosclerosis of cerebral infarction group was higher than the control group (P<0.05, OR=2.61, 95%CI=1.14~5.96); In the constitution of carotid plaque characteristic, the cerebral infarction group was mainly the soft plaque (61.80% , 55/89), whereas the control group was mainly the hard plaque (77.27%, 17/22). There was difference between two groups in the constitution of carotid plaque characteristic (P<0.01);In the constitution of carotid plaque location, two groups both distributed mainly in the carotid sinus (73.68% in cerebral infarction group, and 64.10% in the control group), secondly in the common carotid artery (20.39% in cerebral infarction, and 25.64% in the control group), and least in the internal carotid artery (5.92% in the cerebral infarction group, and 10.26% in the control group). There was not difference in the constitution of carotid plaque location between two groups (P>0.05); There was not difference in the carotid inner diameter and resistance index between two groups (P>0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusion: The carotid atherosclerosis was to some extent able to reveal the atherosclerosis condition of cerebral arteries, with close interaction with cerebral infarction, and was an important predictor for the risk of cerebral infarction. The carotid color doppler ultrasonography can provide a convenient way and objective basis for the prevention and treatment of cerebral infarction.