Abstract

Background: The carotid artery is one of the means used to predict cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease risk in the elderly.

Methods: 1057 senior citizens older than 60 years from Ximen community of Haishu district, had their carotid arteries examined by ultrasound examination with parameters including intima-media thickness (IMT), presence of plaque, the plaque thickness, peal systolic velocity (PSV), resistance index (RI) and the level of narrowing of bilateral internal carotid arteries.

Results: Except for IMT_LICA, IMT_RCCA, IMT_RICA, PSV_LCCA and PSV_RCCA, all ultrasound parameters were significantly different among different age groups (p < 0.05). Comparing between sex within the same age group, except for IMT_RCCA, PSV_LCCA, RI_LICA, PSV_RCCA, PSV_RICA and RI_RICA, other ultrasound parameters were found to be significantly different in the 60-70 year-old group (p < 0.05); with the exception of PSV_LICA, RI_LICA, PSV_RICA, RI_RICA, the feature of the plaque on the left carotid arteries , other ultrasound parameters were significantly different in the ≥ 70-80 year-old group (p < 0.05); except for IMT_RICA and RI_LCCA, no other ultrasound parameters were significantly different in the ≥ 80 year-old group (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Ultrasound screening has significant predictive and preventative value for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Early detection of these diseases will significantly improve patient outcomes in clinical practice.