Related Experiment Videos
Gender, age and carotid plaque morphology
R J Holdsworth1, J S Bryce, D K Harrison
1Department of Vascular Surgery, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School Dundee, UK.
Objectives:
To examine the relationship between patients gender, age and the development of different types of internal carotid artery plaque.
Design:
Prospective open clinical study.
Methods:
455 carotid duplex scans with a greater than 50% stenosis were analysed in terms of gender, age, degree of stenosis symptoms and plaque morphology.
Results:
There were 238 males (52.3%) and 217 females. Of 120 patients with type I plaque 86 were male (71.7%, chi 2 = 23.4, p = 0.000002). This high incidence of type I (haemorrhagic) plaque in men was accompanied by a higher degree of stenosis (chi 2 = 11.7 p = 0.0006) but was independent of the age of the patients and the presence of symptoms.
Conclusions:
Although this study supports the view that men have more severe carotid artery disease, it does not to affect a younger age group. The higher degree of stenosis and its association with haemorrhagic plaque is not translated into an increase in symptoms in men.