Ultrasound images of arteries in the neck can determine risk of. February 2, 2007 Physicians at the University of Chicago Medical Center are now offering a screening test using ultrasound images of arteries in the neck to assess the future risk of heart attack or stroke.
The test also allows an estimation of the typical age of someone with similar blood vessels. Heart specialists have used the test, known as carotid intima-media thickness, or CIMT, for more than a decade in large research studies to monitor the effects of exercise, diet or medications on the progression of atherosclerosis. Now, using data accumulated from thousands of patients followed during such studies, physicians can estimate the risk of a major cardiovascular event--such as a heart attack or stroke--by taking precise measurements of the thickening of the easily accessible carotid arteries, which pass near the surface through the neck. The results are reported to patients in a chart that shows how their vessels compare with others of a similar age and gender. Medical Technologies International, Inc. - Making a Positive Dif.