Correlation between carotid ultrasonography findings and SYNTAX score in South Asian patients with coronary artery disease: A single-center study

Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the correlation between the carotid ultrasound findings (i.e., carotid intima-media thickness [IMT] and plaque score) and complexity of coronary artery disease (angiographic SYNTAX score) in Indian patients with stable ischemic heart disease. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based, prospective, consecutive comparative case series. The study population comprised 117 Indian patients with stable ischemic heart disease, who underwent carotid ultrasonography for the estimation of mean carotid IMT and plaque score and coronary angiography for the estimation of SYNTAX score. Groups comprising patients with low SYNTAX score (0–22; n = 88) and patients with intermediate (23–32) and high (≥33) SYNTAX score ( n = 29) were compared for various demographic factors and carotid ultrasound findings. Results: Patients with intermediate or high SYNTAX score had significantly higher prevalence of diabetes (51.7% vs. 15.9%), hypertension (89.7% vs. 30.7%), and hypercholesterolemia (100% vs. 31.8%) as compared to patients with low SYNTAX score ( P r = 0.73; P r = 0.68; P < 0.01) was observed. Conclusions: Carotid ultrasound findings showed a significant correlation with the degree of complexity of coronary artery lesions.