This study included patients with carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques to conduct multimodal ultrasound examinations, aiming to establish a plaque vulnerability assessment model based on ultrasonic imaging indicators, clinical history, and laboratory indicators. Based on the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events during the 3-year follow-up period, the correlation between the vulnerability of carotid plaques and the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events was explored. Furthermore, a cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk prediction model for patients with plaques was established by combining multi-dimensional data indicators such as patients\' clinical data and ultrasonic multimodal imaging data, forming a risk warning tool suitable for clinical use and providing a reference for risk management in patients with carotid artery plaques.
Research Objectives：
1. To establish a plaque vulnerability assessment model based on ultrasonic imaging indicators of plaques, clinical indicators of patients, and laboratory indicators. 2. To establish a cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk prediction model for patients with carotid plaques by combining clinical indicators of patients and ultrasonic multimodal imaging data. 3. To screen ultrasonic imaging indicators for predicting cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.
Patients who fully understand the purpose and significance of this experiment, voluntarily participate, and voluntarily sign the informed consent form;
Patients over 40 years old;
Patients with carotid plaque thickness ≥ 1.5 mm on conventional ultrasound, undergoing routine duplex ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, ultrasound elastography, and three-dimensional ultrasound imaging.
Patients with severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency; allergy to sulfur hexafluoride; pregnant or lactating women; those with advanced tumors;
Poor quality of ultrasound images;
Patients who have previously undergone carotid artery stenting or endarterectomy on the same side as the carotid plaque.
Patients with carotid plaque
Cohort
Prospective
Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
Other interventionCardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
IPN semi-quantitative grading
Grade 0: no microbubbles seen within the plaque; Grade 1: microbubbles limited to the plaque shoulder or adventitial surface; Grade 2: microbubbles visible at the thickest part of the plaque, the intimal surface, or extensive enhancement within the plaque
Plaque volume (mm^3)
using the software package provided with the ultrasound machine or post-processing software
Average shear wave velocity
After obtaining a stable grayscale image, select the shear wave elastography (SWE) mode and adjust the region of interest (ROI) to include the entire plaque. During the examination, ensure that the probe only has minimal contact with the skin to minimize compression artifacts. Freeze the image after stabilization, acquire the elastography image, and use the tracking tool to accurately outline the plaque boundary to obtain the average shear wave velocity (SWV).
Ulceration and low-echo regions (if present)
The largest area of surface ulceration and low-echo regions within the plaque
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