Correlation between carotid artery vulnerable plaques and recurrent ischemic cerebral stroke

Objective To assess the carotid artery plaques(CAP) and analyze the correlation of their nature,morphology and risk factors with recurrent ischemic cerebral stroke.Methods Of the 209 patients with recurrent ischemic cerebral stroke established by head CT and/or MRI in this study,122 were diagnosed with CAP by combined CT angiography and carotid artery ultrasonography, 86 were diagnosed with vulnerable CAP and 36 were diagnosed with stable CAP according to their nature.The nature and morphology of CAP were analyzed and related factors for ischemic cerebrovascular events were observed.Relation of recurrent time of vulnerable and nonvulnerable ischemic ischemic cerebrovascular events with their distribution and stenosis was compared. Correlation between recurrent ischemic cerebrovascular events and risk factors for CAP was analyzed using the Cox risk model.Results CAP were detected in 122 patients(58.4%).The age of patients with stable CAP was higher than that of those with vulnerable CAP.The proportion of hypertention and coronary heart disease was higher in patients with stable CAP than in those with vulnerable CAP(P0.05).Cox regression analysis showed that the nature of CAP and coronary heart disease were the risk factors for recurrent ischemic cerebral stroke.Conclusion The nature and morphology of CAP and coronary heart disease are the risk factors for recurrent ischemic cerebral stroke.