Year: 2002
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: SUMMARY · Increased lipids in the blood could be associated with an increased lipid core of ath-erosclerotic plaque and plaque echolucency on the B-mode image. The hypothesis that plasma levels of blood lipids predict the echolucency of carotid atherosclerotic plaques on B-mode imaging was tested. A total of 237 outpatients, mean age 62.9±10.2 years, were enrolled in the study. There were 189 symptomatic and 48 asymptomatic patients. All of them underwent duplex sonography of ca-rotid arteries and lipidogram in the last year, and had plaques in common or internal carotid arteries. Other risk factors, i.e. arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, aging and gender, were also evaluated. In the model of logistic regression, the type of plaque (hypoechogenic, echogenic) was introduced as a dependent variable, with LDL, HDL and triglycerides as independent variables. The model fitted the data moderately well (r2=0.19, p<0.001). LDL and HDL appeared to be significant predictors (p<0.01).The association of plaque type with arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, aging and gender was tested by logistic regression. The model fitted the data moderately well (r2=0.24, p<0.001). Ar-terial hypertension and age were significant (p<0.01) predictors for echogenic plaques, whereas ciga-rette smoking was indicative of hypoechogenic plaques (p=0.01). In conclusion, LDL and HDL ap-peared to be associated with hypoechogenic plaques. LDL showed positive, and HDL negative as-sociation. Among other risk factors, aging and arterial hypertension showed positive association with echogenic plaques, whereas cigarette smoking showed positive association with hypoechogenic plaques.
Authors: Marjan Zaletel, Bojana Žvan
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2120004880