Common carotid artery intima-media thickness is as good as carotid intima-media thickness of all carotid artery...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular disease research
• Medical imaging analysis
• Risk prediction modeling

Background:

• Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque assessment enhance traditional risk factors (TRF) for coronary heart disease (CHD) prediction.
• Measuring all carotid artery segments (A-CIMT) can be challenging.
• Common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) is a more accessible and reliable CIMT measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if CCA-IMT plus plaque information improves CHD risk prediction compared to A-CIMT plus plaque information when added to TRF.
• To assess the comparability of CCA-IMT and A-CIMT in enhancing CHD risk prediction models.

Main Methods:

• Developed 10-year CHD risk prediction models using TRF alone, TRF + A-CIMT + plaque, and TRF + CCA-IMT + plaque.
• Analyzed data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
• Estimated model performance using area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC), net reclassification index (NRI), and model calibration.

Main Results:

• AUC values for TRF only, TRF + A-CIMT + plaque, and TRF + CCA-IMT + plaque models were 0.741, 0.754, and 0.753, respectively.
• NRI and clinical NRI showed no significant difference between CIMT models compared to the TRF-only model.
• Model calibration and percentage of reclassified individuals were not significantly different between the A-CIMT and CCA-IMT models.

Conclusions:

• Adding A-CIMT + plaque or CCA-IMT + plaque information to TRF improves CHD risk prediction.
• Measuring CCA-IMT and assessing carotid plaque is a practical and effective alternative to A-CIMT for CHD risk prediction.