Prevalence of Carotid Atherosclerosis in the Elderly

Shin, Yung Woo

Abstract

BACKGROUND: B-mode ultrasonography of the peripheral arterial vessels appears to provide the most accurate assessment of the extent of atherosclerotic diseases. Because of their easy availablility to ultrasound scanning, the extracranial carotid arteries can be used as windows to or indicator sites for generalized atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the major cause of the morbidity and mortality among the elderly. The goal of the study was to assess the prevalence and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in the Korean elderly as an index of generalized atherosclerosis using ultrasound.
METHODS
High-resolution B-mode ultrasound examinations of the carotid arteries were made in 110 consecutive elderly cases for noncardiovascular surgery. The carotid arteries were explored with both longitudinal and transverse scans. Ultrasound examinations included measurements of the intimal-medial thickness and the percent stenosis.
RESULTS
The global prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis was 93.5% in men, 70.3% in women and 80.0% as a whole. Men had the greater frequency and severity of stenosis at all ages than women. The prevalence of severe stenosis was quite low, 2.7% as a whole. The prevalences of mild and moderate stenosis were 44.5% and 32.7%, respectively. Local atherosclerotic lesions were much more prevalent in the carotid bifurcation than in internal and common carotid arteries.
CONCLUSIONS
In the elderly, the incidence of carotid atherosclerosis was high, while the frequency of severe disease was low. More diseases were found in men than in women at all ages.