Vascular events during follow-up in patients with aortic arch atherosclerosis

Background and Purpose An association between aortic arch atherosclerosis and vascular events has been demonstrated. However, few data exist regarding follow-up evaluation of this disease. Methods In this study, 183 patients with the diagnosis of aortic arch atherosclerosis were prospectively followed up. This diagnosis was made during an echocardiographic cross-sectional study. In 136 patients, raised plaques with thickness <5 mm had been shown to exist, and in 47 patients complex plaques with thickness ≥5 mm or plaques with mobile components had been demonstrated on the initial transesophageal echocardiography. Results During a mean follow-up period of 16±7 months, vascular events with a presumed embolic origin occurred in 15 patients. The incidence was 4.1 per 100 person-years in patients with raised plaques compared with 13.7 per 100 person-years in the group with complex plaques. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed a significantly higher rate of vascular events in patients who were found to h...