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. 2019 Jun 21:13:1179546819852941.
doi: 10.1177/1179546819852941. eCollection 2019.

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Surrogate Marker for Cardiovascular Disease in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Olutoyin Morenike Lawal  1 , Michael Olabode Balogun  2 , Anthony Olubunmi Akintomide  2 , Oluwagbemiga Oluwole Ayoola  3 , Tuoyo Omasan Mene-Afejuku  4 , Oluwadare Ogunlade  2 , Oluyomi Oluseun Okunola  5 , Adekunle Oyeyemi Lawal  6 , Adewale Akinsola  5
Affiliations

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Surrogate Marker for Cardiovascular Disease in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Olutoyin Morenike Lawal et al. Clin Med Insights Cardiol. .

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a measure of atherosclerotic vascular disease and considered a comprehensive picture of all alterations caused by multiple cardiovascular risk factors over time on the arterial walls. We therefore sought to determine the CIMT of the common carotid artery in patients with CKD and to evaluate the clinical pattern and prevalence of CVD in CKD patients.

Methods: A case-control study involving 100 subjects made of 50 patients with CKD stages 2 to 4 and 50 age and sex matched apparently normal individuals. Carotid intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery was considered thickened if it measured greater than 0.8 mm. All subjects had laboratory investigations, 12-lead electrocardiogram, transthoracic echocardiography, and ankle-brachial index.

Results: The mean CIMT was higher in CKD population compared with controls (P < .001). Eighty-four percent of the study population was found to have thickened CIMT compared with 18% of controls (P < .001). Patients with CKD had significantly higher blood pressure and heart rate than controls. Cardiovascular disease was also more prevalent among patients with CKD as compared with controls. Carotid intima-media thickness positively correlated with age, blood pressure, and random blood sugar.

Conclusions: As CIMT was well correlated with many cardiovascular risk factors among CKD patients, it may serve as a surrogate marker for CVD and its early assessment may target patients who may need more aggressive therapy to retard the progression of kidney disease and improve outcome.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; carotid intima-media thickness; chronic kidney disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Ultrasound imaging of the common carotid artery showing a soft lucent atheroma at the point of bifurcation. BCC indicates bifurcation of the common carotid artery.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Correlation between eGFR and mean arterial pressure. MAP indicates mean arterial pressure; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Correlation between eGFR and CIMT. eGFR indicates estimated glomerular filtration rate; CIMT, carotid intima-media thickness.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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