Performance Intima-Media Thickness of Carotid Artery and Flow Mediated Dilation of Brachial Artery for Assessing Atherosclerosis Progression

Introduction: Endothelial dysfunction and increased intima-media thickness (IMT) are early findings in the development of atherosclerosis that can be evaluated non-invasively by ultrasonography. The aim of this study was to investigate endothelial function and IMT, and the relation between these processes and atherosclerosis progression in three groups (control, mild stenosis and severe stenosis in the carotid artery). Material and methods: 90 men were studied with the range of ages of 40-60 years in three groups. Vascular ultrasongraphy was performed to analyze endothelium-dependent vascular dilation in the brachial artery and IMT in the common carotid artery. Results: Our study showed that first, there were significant differences in IMT and flow mediated dilation (FMD%) among the three groups (p-value < 0.05). Second, there was significant negative correlation between FMD% of the left brachial artery (LBA) and IMT of the left common carotid artery (LCCA) in mild stenosis and severe stenosis groups (R = -0.37; p-value < 0.05, R = -0.55; p-value < 0.05). Conclusions: This study showed that FMD% on the LBA with accompaniment of IMT on the LCCA could be useful tools to evaluate atherosclerosis progression.