Abstract
Background and Methods To assess the clinical implications of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid artery and evaluate the usefulness of ultrasonic tissue characterization, we performed carotid ultrasonography using an improved ultrasonic device and magnetic resonance imaging of the head in 297 patients 158 who underwent cerebrovascular disease screening and 139 with essential hypertension. Results High frequencies of pathological atherosclerotic and cerebral ischemic changes were found in patients who had soft plaques with a low-density lipid core and in patients who had hard plaques. Conclusions Our results suggest that the presence of plaques in the carotid arteries is an important index of carotid atherosclerotic changes. Soft plaques with a low-density lipid core and hard plaques are often associated with cerebral ischemic changes and are characteristic of pathological atherosclerotic changes.
