Symptomatic Patients with Mild to Moderate Carotid Stenosis: Plaque Features at MRI and Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Statin Use

Robert Kwee¹, Robert van Oostenbrugge, Martin Prins, Jos van Engelshoven, Joachim Wildberger, Werner Mess, Eline Kooi

We found that TIA/stroke patients with moderate carotid stenosis have a higher prevalence of complicated plaques at MRI compared to TIA/stroke patients with mild stenosis. Increasing age is positively associated with the presence of IPH, while the use of statins is negatively associated with complicated plaque features. Other major cardiovascular risk factors were not associated with plaque composition, suggesting that assessment of plaque composition provides independent information, which might be used to improve risk-stratification for stroke.