Obesity, visceral adiposity and carotid atherosclerosis

Abstract Carotid artery atherosclerosis is a complex and multifactorial chronic disease. Our aim was to assess the associations between obesity, fat depots and carotid artery stenosis (CAS) in patients with high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Methods The study group included 391 patients (F/M: 136/255 pts.; age: 61.8 ± 8 years) scheduled for elective coronary angiography. A comprehensive clinical assessment included a carotid artery and abdominal ultrasound (GE Vivid 9, Milwakuee, US) involving the a following fat depots 1 : carotid extra-media thickness (EMT) indexed to the body mass index (perivascular adipose tissue [PVAT]), and 2 abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat. Results Patients with a ≥ 50% stenosis of internal carotid artery (ICA) were older (65.9 ± 7 vs 60.3 ± 7 years, p p p p  = 0.04) were independently associated with the severity of ICA stenosis. Conclusions Our study showed that carotid extra-media thickness, anindex measure of PVAT, is associated with CAS severity. It is a strong and independent predictor of significant ICA stenosis. None of the obesity measurements revealed associations with carotid atherosclerosis.