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Lack of difference in the intimal medial thickness between the left and right carotid arteries in the young
Author(s) -
Arbel Y.,
Maharshak N.,
GalOz A.,
Shapira I.,
Berliner S.,
Bornstein N. M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2007.00828.x
Subject(s) - medicine , carotid arteries , cardiology , thickening , intima media thickness , significant difference , artery , tunica intima , common carotid artery , chemistry , polymer science
Background – Carotid intimal medial thickening (c‐IMT) is an established surrogate marker for atherosclerosis. There have been sporadic reports about an increase of c‐IMT on the left carotid artery among populations with a mean age of ±50 years. Objective – The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether there is a difference in c‐IMT between the two carotid arteries in a group of young healthy adults. Methods – Ninety‐eight healthy adults with a mean age of 28 years underwent blood tests to evaluate various cardiovascular risk factors as well as automated ultrasonic measurements of their c‐IMT on both carotid arteries. Results – No significant difference was noted between c‐IMT on both sides. In fact, the c‐IMT on left carotid artery in men ( n = 52) was 0.625 ± 0.078 mm while on the right carotid it was 0.626 ± 0.075 mm ( P = 0.884). The values for women ( n = 46) were 0.615 ± 0.059 mm and for men 0.622 ± 0.0618 mm ( P = 0.582), respectively. Conclusion – As opposed to a noted increase of c‐IMT on the left carotid artery in older individuals, we did not find this difference in a group of young and relatively healthy adults. It is possible that if mechanical stress forces contribute to an enhanced left c‐IMT, it takes a relatively long time to become evident.