Repeat US prove to benefit at risk individuals

Researchers from Austria have studied studying carotid arteries with repeat US. Strange sentence but true.

The team first did ultrasound exams of the carotid arteries of 1,268 patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease because of multiple risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or known blockages in other blood vessels such as the coronary arteries. Then they concentrated on the 574 patients that showed the most plaque buildup.

What did they find?

Over a follow-up of slightly more than three years, the GSM levels decreased in 230 patients, or 40%, and increased in 344, or 60%. Those in the lowest GSM group, with the darkest plaque, were about 1.7 times more likely to have a cardiovascular event than those whose GSM went up the most, reflecting less dense plaque, during the follow-up. Those whose GSM declined the most had a 68% survival rate at three years, compared to a 78% survival for those whose GSM increased.

This is what one would expect but it is really cool to know that we can now actually ‘view’ this process in order to combat stroke and heart attacks. The researchers did state that this is not ready for the general population and more science is necessary.

via Web MD