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

Background: Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the most common cause of cardiovascular diseases and divided into two main categories as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and chronic stable angina (CSA). These two groups have stenosis and atherosclerosis in the coronary artery, but are more severe in patients with ACS.

Objectives: We aimed to find the association between coroner and internal carotid artery, also comparing prospectively stenosis level, plaque morphology and intima-media thickness of internal carotid between patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and chronic stable angina.

Patients and methods: In this study, 60 patients were enrolled as ACS group chosen from those admitted in CCU or referred to clinic. Forty-five patients of CSA group were chosen from those referred to clinic. All 105 patients underwent color Doppler sonography, and stenosis, plaque morphology and intima media thickness (IMT) were measured.

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).