Stenosis level, plaque morphology and intima-media thickness of internal carotid artery in chronic stable angina and acute coronary syndrome; a comparative study.

Results: In 60 patients with ACS, 49 (81.7%) had no stenosis in ultrasonography and 11 (18.3%) had some degrees of stenosis; also 28 (46.7%) and 16 (26.7%) of patients had plaque and IMT, respectively. In the rest 45 patients of CSA group, just 4 (8.9%), 17 (37.8%) and 8 (17.8%) patients had stenosis, plaque and IMT, respectively. Therefore, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding stenosis (P = 0.171), plaque morphology (P = 0.362) and IMT (P = 0.283) (Power = 90%). Conclusions: According to the results, there were no significant and meaningful differences comparing ACS and CSA groups of patients by ECDS using three indicators of stenosis, plaque morphology and IMT as indicators of atherosclerosis. Results also display that patients with ACS had more stenosis, more plaque and thicker intima–media, but these differences were not statistically significant (P < 0.05).