BACKGROUND: Event-based trials of antihypertensive therapy, although they have been essential in showing the beneficial effects of antihypertensive therapy on @entity65 and mortality, could not answer the question whether antihypertensive therapy influences the development of @entity731 . Trials using measurements of plaque growth as endpoints are necessary. METHODS: The traditional approach of using quantitative coronary arteriography for assessing the course of @entity453 during treatment cannot obviously be used in uncomplicated @entity101 @entity1 . B-mode quantitative ultrasound assessment of @entity121 ( @entity121 ) of the carotid artery wall is now being used in several trials comparing different antihypertensive drugs. The major advantage of this approach is that it is non-invasive; it has also been demonstrated that @entity121 measurements are well reproducible. Limits of normality, definition of plaques and rate of growth of @entity121 in @entity101 are still uncertain, however. Additionally, ultrasonographic techniques do not clearly distinguish between media and intima, and it is difficult to decide how many of the carotid wall lesions observed in @entity101 are due to media @entity1184 related to @entity101 or to intima changes related to @entity731 , although it is likely that the largest lesions have an @entity731 component. PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF @entity121 : Baseline data from two recent trials, the VHAS and the ELSA, indicate that carotid wall lesions are highly prevalent in @entity101 , but the prevalence level obviously depends on the criteria used for defining these lesions. It is known that elevated systolic blood pressure is an important risk factor for @entity66 , and epidemiological surveys have shown that increased carotid @entity121 is more frequently associated with history and signs of coronary artery or @entity66 . Some evidence from a prospective study is also available, and the VHAS findings support this conclusion. Trials of antihypertensive therapy using @entity121 as endpoint are, therefore, likely to provide clinically useful information.

Intermediate endpoints for XXXX in @entity101 .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity101 :: ('MESH:D006973', 'Disease') :: ['hypertension', 'hypertensive'] @entity66 :: ('MESH:D004194', 'Disease') :: ['cerebrovascular disease', 'carotid lesions'] @entity1184 :: ('MESH:D006984', 'Disease') :: ['hypertrophy'] @entity453 :: ('MESH:D003324', 'Disease') :: ['coronary artery disease'] @entity731 :: ('MESH:D050197', 'Disease') :: ['atherosclerotic', 'atherosclerosis'] @entity121 :: ('MESH:D009135', 'Disease') :: ['IMT', 'intima-media thickness'] @entity65 :: ('MESH:D002318', 'Disease') :: ['cardiovascular morbidity']
@entity731 :: (MESH:D050197,Disease) :: ['atherosclerosis']
