Hideki Ota1,2, Mathew J. Reeves3,
David C. Zhu2, Arshad Majid4, Alonso Collar5,
Nikunj Chauhan, Chun Yuan6, J.Kevin DeMarco2
1Diagnostic Radiology, Tohoku
University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan; 2Radiology, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, MI, United States; 3Epidemiology,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States; 4Neurology
& Ophthalmology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United
States; 5Ingham Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgeons, Lansing,
MI, United States; 6Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle,
WA, United States
The
purpose of this study was to evaluate prevalence of complicated, high-risk
carotid plaque characteristics in both men and women with a broad range of
carotid artery stenosis. A total of 230 arteries (51% men) in 132 patients
having 0-99% carotid stenosis were included for the analysis. After adjusting
for baseline demographic characteristics as possible confounders, presence of
complicated AHA VI plaque, lipid-rich/necrotic core, intraplaque hemorrhage
were significantly more common in men than women. Increasing MRA stenosis was
also associated with these high-risk plaque features. The present results
indicate that the development of atherosclerosis appears different between
men and women.