[Peculiarities of atherosclerotic injury of carotid arteries in patients with coronary artery disease with hyperhomocysteinemia].

Peculiarities of atherosclerotic injury of carotid arteries were studied in 47 patients with coronary artery disease in dependence of blood concentration of homocysteine. The patients were divided in 2 groups -- with homocysteine concentration more and less than 10 mmol/l, and in 4 groups, corresponding to quartiles of distribution of homocysteine in blood. Ultrasound method was used for assessment of carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), detection of presence and character of atherosclerotic plaques and estimation of degree of carotid artery narrowing. It was established that elevation of blood homocysteine concentration was accompanied with increase of IMT, number of atherosclerotic plaques, and. Positive correlation was found between homocysteine level and IMT (r=0.38, p<0.05), degree of narrowing of carotid arteries (r=0.47, p<0.05), character of atherosclerotic plaques (r=0.43, p<0.05).