Compelling research has shown that measurement of atherosclerosis outside of the coronary arteries is of value in risk prediction and disease prognosis for CHD or CVD. Selected clinical and subclinical measurements of noncoronary atherosclerosis provide predictive information to supplement standardized risk factors. These measurements can aid in predicting and anticipating overall prognosis for CHD and other CVD events.
Atherosclerosis is more common in men than in women until after menopause. This effect is thought to be due to the protective effects of female sex hormones.
Although most cases of atherosclerotic vascular disease become clinically apparent in patients aged 40 years or older, the process begins in childhood, with the development of fatty streaks in the aorta shortly after birth that then appear more prevalently through adolescence. Organ-specific clinical manifestations of the disease increase with age through the fifth and sixth decades of life.
Most patients at risk for obstructive CAD have an atypical clinical presentation and therefore a high likelihood of negative angiographic results; for these patients especially, evidence of noncoronary atherosclerosis is the most relevant predictor of obstructive CAD.
Learn more about noncoronary atherosclerosis.
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Cite this: Yasmine S. Ali. Fast Five Quiz: Noncoronary Atherosclerosis - Medscape - Mar 01, 2021.
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