Co-existing intracranial and extracranial carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques and recurrent stroke risk: a three-dimensional multicontrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance study

摘要

BackgroundAs a systemic disease, atherosclerosis commonly affects intracranial and extracranial carotid arteries simultaneously which is defined as co-existing plaques. Previous studies demonstrated that co-existing atherosclerotic diseases are significantly associated with ischemic cerebrovascular events. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of co-existing intracranial and extracranial carotid atherosclerotic plaques and their relationships with recurrent stroke by using 3D multi-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) vessel wall imaging.