Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detected Intraplaque Hemorrhage in Non-stenotic Carotid Artery Atherosclerotic Disease of Asymptomatic Diabetic Patients

Cerebrovascular disease represents a major cause of death globally. It is directly related to atherosclerotic development in the carotid arteries where risk is mainly assessed by measurement of stenosis. Diabetic patients are predisposed to cerebrovascular event occurrence and atherosclerotic development. An advanced feature of atherosclerotic disease is intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH), which increases the risk of such events. In this study, magnetic resonance imaging techniques were used to define an optimal method for measuring IPH. This method was applied to a cohort of diabetic patients without carotid artery stenosis, to find the prevalence of IPH, which was compared with carotid artery wall measurements to determine its related effects. This thesis provides evidence that advanced features of atherosclerosis, in the form of IPH, can be found even when no carotid stenosis is present and may provide insight into the added risk borne by diabetic patients.M.Sc