Abstract 11733: Assessment of Carotid Plaque Neovascularization Using Quantitative Analysis of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging is Useful for Risk Stratification in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Introduction: Extensive neovascularization in atherosclerotic plaque has been shown to be associated with plaque progression and instability, leading to atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of the carotid artery is a potential technique for imaging plaque neovascularization. Hypothesis: Assessment of intra-plaque neovascularization of the carotid artery using quantitative analysis of CEUS provides prognostic information in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: This study included 206 patients with stable CAD and with carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) > 1.1 mm. They underwent a CEUS examination of the carotid artery and were followed-up prospectively for Results: During the follow-up period (3 - 38 months, mean 22.8 ± 11.8 months), 31 events occurred (2 cardiac deaths, 7 non-fatal MIs, 16 uAP, and 6 heart failure). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that plaque enhanced intensity was a significant predictor of cardiac events independent of traditional risk factors (HR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.20 - 1.94; p = 0.001). The addition of plaque enhanced intensity had a significant incremental effect on the area under the ROC curve (AUC) generated using baseline model of traditional risk factors (AUC: baseline model 0.69 vs. baseline model + plaque enhanced intensity 0.78, p = 0.03). The addition of the plaque enhanced intensity to the baseline risk factors resulted in net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) (NRI 0.58, p = 0.003; and IDI 0.078, p = 0.03). Conclusions: The assessment of carotid plaque neovascularization using quantitative analysis of CEUS may be useful for risk stratification in patients with CAD.