The proposed project is a prospective observational, single-center cohort study aimed to examine the progression of atherosclerotic alterations of the carotid arteries (IMT, plaque volume) during a follow-up of up to four years and to correlate the observed changes with traditional and novel biomarkers of atherosclerosis. A total of 600 subsequent patients with or established cardiovascular disease or at least one cardiovascular risk will be tested with a high-frequency ultrasound probe equipped with automated IMT measurements and 3D quantitative plaque volumetry. Plasma samples will be collected and tested for traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors. Both ultrasound examinations and blood sampling will be repeated once per year to assess changes in these parameters over time depending on treatment modalities, which are left to the discretion of the treating physicians. The primary endpoint of the planned study will be the correlation between P-selectin and the progression of atherosclerosis as measured by plaque volume and IMT in the carotid and femoral arteries, respectively. Secondary endpoints will include the correlation of established (hypertension, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia) and novel risk factors (hsCRP, P-selectin, cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CETP TaqIb polymorphism) with the progression of atherosclerosis, the correlation of cardiovascular events with the progression of atherosclerosis and the additional predictive value of plaque volume and IMT compared to an established risk score (SCORE card).
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
443
Medical University Innsbruck, Department for Internal Medicine III
Innsbruck, Austria
Correlation between P-selectin and the progression of atherosclerosis
The primary endpoint of the planned study will be the correlation between P-selectin and the progression of atherosclerosis as measured by plaque volume and IMT in the carotid and femoral arteries
Time frame: up to 4 years
Correlation of cardiovascular events with the progression of atherosclerosis
As secondary endpoints, cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), coronary bypass surgery, stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), surgery for aortic aneurysm, critical limb ischemia, peripheral percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), peripheral bypass) will be correlated with the progression of atherosclerosis and the additional predictive value of plaque volume and IMT in carotid and or femoral arteries compared to an established clinical risk score risk score (SCORE card) will be calculated
Time frame: up to 4 years
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