Natural History of Carotid Atherosclerosis

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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A prospective study of 700 patients with coronary artery disease will undergo non invasive evaluation of their carotid arteries by ultrasound and microwave radiometry. The patients will be followed up for 3 years and their outcome regarding the cardiovascular events (death, cardiac events, cerebrovascular events) will be recorded

Detailed Description
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Carotid artery Thermal heterogeneity recorded by MR will be corelated to cardiovascular events (death, cardiac events, cerebrovascular events) as well as to all demographic (age, sex, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking status, etc) factors

Official Title
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A Prospective Natural History Study of Carotid Atherosclerosis

Conditions
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Carotid Artery Disease, Stroke, Myocardial Infarction, Angina Pectoris

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Consecutive patients with coronary artery disease admitted in our hospital Exclusion Criteria: Patients with history of previous cerebrovascular event, History of vasculitis, intermittent inflammatory, infectious, or neoplastic conditions likely to be associated with an acute-phase response.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 30 Years
Maximum Age: 80 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| carotid thermal heterogeneity<br>Patients that have carotid thermal heterogeneity detected by MR | |
| no carotid thermal heterogeneity<br>Patients that DONT have carotid thermal heterogeneity detected by MR | |
| carotid artery disease<br>Patients with detected carotid artery disease by ultrasound | |
| no carotid artery disease<br>Patients with no carotid artery disease detected by ultrasound | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To detect if carotid ultrasound and carotid microwave radiometry measurements can predict the incidence of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease | Microwave radiometry is a non invasive and safe technique that measures temperature of the internal tissues by detecting the normal radiation of the tissues in microwave frequencies. The primary outcome of the study is to see if the temperatures measured in the carotid arteries of patients with coronary artery disease can predict their outcome regarding cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events | 3 years | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Relation of other demographic factors with carotid ultrasound and microwave radiometry measurements and outcome |  | 3 years | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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microwave radiometry, cardiovascular events, carotid artery disease, stroke, myocardial infarction