ABSTRACT
Cardiopulmonary diseases are major causes of death worldwide, but currently recommended strategies for diagnosis and prevention may be outdated because of recent changes in risk factor patterns. The Swedish CArdioPulmonarybioImage Study (SCAPIS) combines the use of new imaging technologies, advances in large-scale 'omics' and epidemiological analyses to extensively characterize a Swedish cohort of 30 000 men and women aged between 50 and 64 years. The information obtained will be used to improve risk prediction of cardiopulmonary diseases and optimize the ability to study disease mechanisms. A comprehensive pilot study in 1111 individuals, which was completed in 2012, demonstrated the feasibility and financial and ethical consequences of SCAPIS. Recruitment to the national, multicentre study has recently started.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive , Cardiovascular Diseases/diagnosis , Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/metabolism , Cardiovascular Diseases/therapy , Female , Genetic Techniques , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Proteomics/methods , Public Health/methods , Public Health/statistics & numerical data , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/diagnosis , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/epidemiology , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/etiology , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/metabolism , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/therapy , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic Factors , Sweden/epidemiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) has been used to assess the vascularisation of carotid plaques. Our aim was to develop and validate a standardised semi-automated method for CEUS examination of plaques, and test if the technique could be used to identify vulnerable plaques. METHODS: Study participants were a mixed population of symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects, selected if they had a plaque with height >2.5 mm and <10% acoustic shadowing. Participants received a bolus of ultrasound contrast agent and a 90-s cine-loop was captured. A Contrast Quantification Program (CQP) was developed and trained to identify extent of contrast uptake after motion correction and application of a noise reduction algorithm. The technique was validated by comparing CQP values with visual assessment of contrast uptake. CQP values were also compared with plaque echogenicity and history of clinical events. RESULTS: CQP values correlated with a visual, 5-scale classification of contrast uptake by two blinded, experienced sonographers. Repeated contrast injections showed high reproducibility. Participants with a history of ipsilateral stroke/TIA had significantly higher CQP values than asymptomatic participants. CONCLUSION: We present a reproducible, semi-automatic method to identify vascularisation of carotid plaques, which could be used in prospective studies to determine the clinical value of plaque vascularisation.