[Location and morphology of plaque of the carotid artery and femoral artery in the B-scan image in employees of the Düsseldorf public officials: value of screening study].

With the help of high-resolution real-time sonography, we examined the carotid and femoral arteries in 3,500 asymptomatic persons to assess early states of atherosclerosis an to prove the utility of B-Scan-Sonography in this aim. We found 384 people having plaques, totally 769 pl. 68 p.c. of all plaques we were found in the femoral arteries, 32 p.c. in the carotid arteries, in each case with preference of the bifurcation and the pre-bifurcation-region. This seems to confirm earlier studies on this theme. As regards to the morphology, we found 67 p.c. (of all plaques) being faintly-echogenic ("fatty-streaks" or intermediär type). 73 p.c. of all plaques showed a smooth or faintly irregular surface-character. More than 75% of all plaques had a volume less than 0.3 ccm. Altogether, the results verify the assessment of mostly early states of atherosclerosis with the help of real-time-ultrasound and underline this method being a good and sufficient non-invasive-technique for screening-examinations on an asymptomatic collective.