Combined Measurement of Carotid Stiffness and Intima-Media Thickness Improves Prediction of Complex Aortic Plaques in Patients With Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Our findings suggest that IMT and DC represent different vessel wall properties and that measuring both parameters provides optimized characterization of carotid atherosclerosis. Combining IMT and DC increases the predictive power of carotid ultrasound, making transesophageal echocardiography dispensable for assessment of the aorta for those with normal carotid arteries and indispensable for those patients with carotid atherosclerosis.