Prevalence and Burden of Carotid and Femoral Atherosclerosis in Subjects Without Known Cardiovascular Disease in a Large Community Hospital in South-America

Clinical guidelines recommend measurement of arterial (carotid and femoral) plaque burden by vascular ultrasound (VUS) as a risk modifier in individuals at low or moderate risk without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). To evaluate the prevalence of carotid and femoral plaques by age and sex, the burden of subclinical atherosclerosis (SA), and its association with classic CVRF in subjects over 30 years of age without ASCVD. We prospectively enrolled 5775 consecutive subjects referred for cardiovascular evaluation and determined the prevalence and burden of SA using 2D-VUS in carotid and femoral arteries. Sixty-one percent were men with a mean age of 51.3 (SD 10.6) years. Overall, plaque prevalence was 51