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The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and intima-media thickness variability (IMTV) along the artery are correlated to the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in Japanese coronary artery disease patients. Five hundred consecutive patients (312 males; median age 69 ± 11 years) who underwent carotid ultrasonography and first coronary angiography were prospectively analyzed. By using automated software (AtheroEdge™, AtheroPoint, Roseville, CA, USA), we obtained the cIMT and IMTV. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to calculate the association between ABI, automatically measured cIMT, automatically measured IMTV, and the SYNTAX score. The mean cIMT was 0.881 ± 0.334 mm and the mean IMTV was 0.141 ± 0.112. IMTV was negatively and significantly correlated to ABI (ρ = -0.147; p = 0.001), whereas cIMT was not (ρ = -0.075; p = 0.097). IMTV and cIMT had the same significant correlation with the SYNTAX score. When we considered patients with a higher risk factor (ABI ≤ 0.9), we found higher values of IMTV and the SYNTAX score, but not higher values of cIMT. Logistic regression analysis showed that IMTV was independently associated with the complexity of the coronary artery disease (as assessed by the SYNTAX score). In conclusion, we show that IMTV automatically measured using AtheroEdge™ was correlated with ABI, whereas cIMT was not. IMTV could be integrated with cIMT measurement to improve the assessment of cardiovascular disease.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the automated carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) identified by using automated software could predict the SYNTAX score for coronary artery disease (CAD) patients., Methods: Three-hundred-seventy consecutive patients (males 218; median age 69±11 years) who underwent carotid-ultrasound and coronary angiography were analyzed. Two experienced interventional cardiologists calculated the SYNTAX score from the carotid angiograms. After ultrasonographic examinations were performed, the plaque score (PS) was calculated and automated carotid IMT analysis was obtained by a fully automated algorithm. Correlation and stepwise logistic regression analysis were calculated and also the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was computed., Results: The mean SYNTAX score was 8.1±14.4; the PS was 7.1±14.4 and the mean CIMT was 0.86±0.23 mm (Normality rejected with a P-value of 0.001). A statistically significant correlation was found between the CIMT and SYNTAX score (r=0.323; P=0.0001) and between the PS and SYNTAX score (r=0.583; P=0.0001). The area under the ROC curve (Az) between CIMT and coronary artery disease was 0.648 (P=0.0001) and the CIMT of 1 mm or more was associated with the presence coronary artery disease with a specificity of 90.5%. Logistic regression analysis confirmed the association between CIMT and SYNTAX score (P=0.0002)., Conclusions: Results of our study using an automated algorithm showed a statistical significant association between CIMT and SYNTAX score and indicated that CIMT may be considered a reliable parameter for prediction of SYNTAX score in coronary artery disease patient population from Japan.