Why the study?
Atherosclerosis is often asymptomatic early on and diagnosed only at advanced stages when treatment is difficult and prognosis is poor.
Carotid ultrasonography is highlighted as a necessary screening tool for assessing systemic atherosclerosis in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, regardless of the presence of symptoms.
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May support carotid screening in ischemic heart disease; leaves open prospective validation before routine adoption.
Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease that most often affects the carotid arteries. Being usually asymptomatic in its early stages, it is diagnosed only in advanced stages, when treatment is more difficult and prognosis is poor. Carotid ultrasound (US) is the most commonly used method for diagnosing carotid artery disease and represents a proper method for screening in patients with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. This paper shows the methodology and necessity of carotid imaging methods in patients at high risk of developing atherosclerotic lesions. We also review the findings that underline the need of carotid screening in patients with ischemic heart disease or with ischemic arteriopathy, showing that the carotid arteries are like ‘mirrors’ of the arterial system, which need to be assessed in every patient with CV risk factors, regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms.
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Oltean-Péter et al. (2018) studied this question.
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