Intima-media thickness at the near or far wall of the common carotid artery in cardiovascular risk assessment
Why the study?
Current guidelines recommend measuring carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) at the far wall of the common carotid artery, but the precise associations and added predictive values of near versus far wall IMT for CVD risk needed quantification.
Does measuring common carotid artery intima-media thickness at both near and far walls improve cardiovascular risk prediction compared to far wall measurement alone?
Population
41 941 participants from 16 prospective studies in the Proof-ATHERO consortium
Comparison
Near wall vs far wall common carotid artery IMT
Design
Individual participant data meta-analysis of prospective studies
Follow-up
Median 9.3 years
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Measuring CCA-IMT at both walls improves CVD risk discrimination over far wall alone; extends meta-analytic support for bilateral carotid protocols.
Structured PICO
Does measuring common carotid artery intima-media thickness at both near and far walls improve cardiovascular risk prediction compared to far wall measurement alone?
P
Population
41,941 participants from 16 prospective studies in the Proof-ATHERO consortium, mean age 61 years, 53% female, 16% prior CVD.
I
Intervention
Measurement of near wall and far wall common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT)
C
Comparator
Measurement of far wall CCA-IMT alone
O
Outcome
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD, defined as coronary heart disease or stroke)hard clinical
Measuring carotid intima-media thickness at both the near and far walls provides better cardiovascular risk discrimination than measuring the far wall alone.
Cite This Study
Seekircher et al. (2023) studied this question.