Cardiac CT combined with carotid ultrasound for noninvasive evaluation of atherosclerosis in patients with suspected coronary artery disease
XUE Jun
WU Di
WANG Xu
ZHENG Jin-gang
FAN Yu-dong
Abstract：Objective To explore the non-invasive diagnosis of atherosclerosis in patients with suspected coronary artery disease with cardiac CT combined with carotid artery ultrasound(US).Methods A total of 107 patients(64 males,age 59±12 years)with atypical chest pain in our hospital between April 2022 and April 2024 were selected.The patients underwent cardiac CT(CCT)and carotid US to evaluate the severity(obstructive or non-obstructive),location,shape,and composition of atherosclerotic plaques.Results Normal coronary artery accounted for 36％(n=38)and normal carotid artery accounted for 53％(n=57).There were plaques in both arterial regions in 35 patients(33％),but only 2 patients had obstructive stenosis in the both regions.The average carotid intima-media thickness(CIMT)was(1.0±0.3)mm and 27 patients had CIMT＜0.9 mm.When CIMT was ≥0.9,there was no statistically significant difference in coronary artery plaque between patients with and without coronary heart disease(P＞0.05).The coronary artery plaque was located at the entrance of the artery in 7％(n=5)of the patients,at non-entrance sites in 29％(n=20),and in both sites in 64％(n=44).The carotid artery plaque was located at the starting point of the internal or external carotid artery in 56％(n=28)of the patients,at the bifurcation in 20％(n=10),and at the bifurcation in 24％(n=12)(P＜0.05).In the coronary artery region,96％(n=66)and in the carotid artery,92％(n=46)of the plaques had eccentric morphology(P＞0.05).25％(n=17)of the coronary artery plaques were calcified,19％(n=13)were non-calcified,and 56％(n=39)were mixed;8％(n=4)of the carotid artery plaques were calcified,8％(n=4)were non-calcified,and 84％(n=42)were mixed(P＜0.05).Non-obstructive coronary artery disease was present in 36％(n=39)of the patients,while obstructive coronary artery disease was present in 28％(n=30);non-obstructive disease was present in 44％(n=47),while obstructive disease was present in 3％(n=3)(P＜0.05).Conclusion Atherosclerotic disease presents different imaging manifestations by Cardiac CT combined with carotid US in coronary and carotid areas in terms of lesion severity,location along the vessel and plaque composition.
Keywords：Cardiac CTCarotid artery ultrasoundCoronary artery diseaseAtherosclerosis
Publication Date：2024-12-10
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1063-1067 )