Risk Factors and Segment-Specific Carotid Arterial Enlargement in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Cohort

Abstract

Risk factors relate positively to IMT in both the common and internal carotid arteries and inversely with lumen diameter in the internal carotid artery, in parallel with their relation to clinical events. However, their association with lumen diameters of the common carotid artery in population-based samples is more complex, and in some cases adverse levels of risk factors may be associated with larger lumens.