Why the study?
Does the CHADS2 score correlate with the severity of carotid atherosclerosis and carotid artery dysfunction in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation?
Does the CHADS2 score correlate with the severity of carotid atherosclerosis and carotid artery dysfunction in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation?
The CHADS2 score correlates with the severity of carotid atherosclerosis and impaired carotid artery function in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, suggesting its utility beyond stroke risk stratification.
AF-associated carotid IMT increase supports vascular risk evaluation; leaves open whether CHADS2 improves atherosclerosis prediction in prospective studies.
Objective . This study investigated the characteristics of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and determined the feasibility and significance of the CHADS 2 score in predicting the degree of carotid atherosclerosis. Methods . Consecutive patients (n = 109) with nonvalvular AF were registered and classified into two groups, the paroxysmal AF group (n = 59) and persistent AF group (n = 50). Fifty healthy patients, matched by sex and age, were considered the control group. All patients were examined using carotid ultrasound and velocity vector imaging (VVI). Results . Compared with the control group, the mean intimal-medial thickness in the paroxysmal AF group (0.56 ± 0.11 versus 0.61 ± 0.10, respectively, P < 0.05) and the persistent AF group (0.56 ± 0.11 versus 0.64 ± 0.13, respectively, P < 0.001) was significantly increased. The plaque index (PI) in the persistent AF group was significantly higher than that observed in the paroxysmal AF group (1.05 ± 1.33 versus 1.42 ± 1.47, respectively, P < 0.001). Regarding the VVI indices, those reflecting the long-axis longitudinal motion function of carotid arteries were significantly decreased in both AF groups. Compared with the control group, a significantly lower total longitudinal displacement (tLoD) index was observed in the persistent AF group (0.73 ± 0.66 versus 0.31 ± 0.23, respectively, P < 0·0001) and the paroxysmal AF group (0.73 ± 0.66 versus 0.34 ± 0.17, P < 0·0001). The CHADS 2 score was related to indicators reflecting the structure and function of the carotid artery. Conclusions . Carotid arterial structure and function were significantly altered in patients with AF. The degree of carotid atherosclerosis depended on the duration of AF. The CHADS 2 score may be useful as a predictor of the extent of carotid atherosclerosis in patients with AF.
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Lin et al. (2018) studied this question.
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