Biomedicines (May 2021)

Carotid Atherosclerosis, Ultrasound and Lipoproteins

  • Arcangelo Iannuzzi,
  • Paolo Rubba,
  • Marco Gentile,
  • Vania Mallardo,
  • Ilenia Calcaterra,
  • Alessandro Bresciani,
  • Giuseppe Covetti,
  • Gianluigi Cuomo,
  • Pasquale Merone,
  • Anna Di Lorenzo,
  • Roberta Alfieri,
  • Emilio Aliberti,
  • Francesco Giallauria,
  • Matteo Nicola Dario Di Minno,
  • Gabriella Iannuzzo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines9050521
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 5
p. 521

Abstract

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Carotid artery plaques are considered a measure of atherosclerosis and are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic strokes. Monitoring of patients with an elevated risk of stroke is critical in developing better prevention strategies. Non-invasive imaging allows us to directly see atherosclerosis in vessels and many features that are related to plaque vulnerability. A large body of evidence has demonstrated a strong correlation between some lipid parameters and carotid atherosclerosis. In this article, we review the relationship between lipids and atherosclerosis with a focus on carotid ultrasound, the most common method to estimate atherosclerotic load.

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