OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation is poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between carotid, femoral, and coronary atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter, and whether atherosclerosis was a risk marker for AAA. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ultrasound of the right carotid artery, the common femoral artery, and the abdominal aorta was performed in 6446 men and women from a general population. The burden of atherosclerosis was assessed as carotid total plaque area, common femoral lumen diameter, and self-reported coronary heart disease. An AAA was defined as maximal infrarenal aortic diameter > or =30 mm. No dose-response relationship was found between carotid atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter <27 mm. However, significantly more atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease was found in aortic diameter > or =27 mm and in AAAs. The age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) for AAA in the top total plaque area quintile was 2.3 (1.5 to 3.4), as compared with subjects without plaques. The adjusted OR (95% CI) was 1.7 (1.1 to 2.6). No independent association was found between femoral lumen diameter and AAA. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of a consistent dose-response relationship between atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter suggests that atherosclerosis may not be a causal event in AAA but develops in parallel with or secondary to aneurismal dilatation.
OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) formation is poorly understood. We investigated the relationship between carotid, femoral, and coronary atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter, and whether atherosclerosis was a risk marker for AAA. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ultrasound of the right carotid artery, the common femoral artery, and the abdominal aorta was performed in 6446 men and women from a general population. The burden of atherosclerosis was assessed as carotid total plaque area, common femoral lumen diameter, and self-reported coronary heart disease. An AAA was defined as maximal infrarenal aortic diameter > or =30 mm. No dose-response relationship was found between carotid atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter <27 mm. However, significantly more atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease was found in aortic diameter > or =27 mm and in AAAs. The age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) for AAA in the top total plaque area quintile was 2.3 (1.5 to 3.4), as compared with subjects without plaques. The adjusted OR (95% CI) was 1.7 (1.1 to 2.6). No independent association was found between femoral lumen diameter and AAA. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of a consistent dose-response relationship between atherosclerosis and abdominal aortic diameter suggests that atherosclerosis may not be a causal event in AAA but develops in parallel with or secondary to aneurismal dilatation.
Authors: Justin L Grodin; Tiffany M Powell-Wiley; Colby R Ayers; Darpan S Kumar; Anand Rohatgi; Amit Khera; Darren K McGuire; James A de Lemos; Sandeep R Das Journal: Vasc Med Date: 2011-10 Impact factor: 3.239
Authors: Lu Yao; Aaron R Folsom; Alvaro Alonso; Pamela L Lutsey; James S Pankow; Weihua Guan; Susan Cheng; Frank A Lederle; Weihong Tang Journal: Atherosclerosis Date: 2018-02-04 Impact factor: 5.162
Authors: Kirsti A Campbell; Michael J Lipinski; Amanda C Doran; Marcus D Skaflen; Valentin Fuster; Coleen A McNamara Journal: Circ Res Date: 2012-03-16 Impact factor: 17.367
Authors: Gregory T Jones; Matthew J Bown; Solveig Gretarsdottir; Simon P R Romaine; Anna Helgadottir; Grace Yu; Gerard Tromp; Paul E Norman; Cao Jin; Annette F Baas; Jan D Blankensteijn; Iftikhar J Kullo; L Victoria Phillips; Michael J A Williams; Ruth Topless; Tony R Merriman; Thodor M Vasudevan; David R Lewis; Ross D Blair; Andrew A Hill; Robert D Sayers; Janet T Powell; Panagiotis Deloukas; Gudmar Thorleifsson; Stefan E Matthiasson; Unnur Thorsteinsdottir; Jonathan Golledge; Robert A Ariëns; Anne Johnson; Soroush Sohrabi; D Julian Scott; David J Carey; Robert Erdman; James R Elmore; Helena Kuivaniemi; Nilesh J Samani; Kari Stefansson; Andre M van Rij Journal: Hum Mol Genet Date: 2013-03-27 Impact factor: 6.150