• Yoram Agmon, Bijoy K Khandheria, Irene Meissner, Tanya M Petterson, W Michael O'Fallon, David O Wiebers, Teresa J H Christianson, Joseph P McConnell, Jack P Whisnant, James B Seward, and A Jamil Tajik.
• Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
• Arch Intern Med. 2004 Sep 13; 164 (16): 1781-7.

BackgroundAn association between systemic inflammatory markers and the presence and severity of atherosclerotic plaques has not been demonstrated in a nonselected population. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of inflammatory markers with aortic atherosclerotic plaques in a sample of the general population and in a subgroup free of clinical vascular disease.MethodsTransesophageal echocardiography was performed in 386 subjects (median age, 66 years; 53% men). We examined the association between systemic inflammatory markers and aortic atherosclerotic plaques.ResultsAortic plaques were present in 267 subjects (69%). Plaques at least 4 and 6 mm thick and mobile debris were present in 114, 41, and 20 subjects, respectively. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level was associated with the presence of aortic plaques, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, and additional atherosclerosis risk factors. Among subjects with plaques, hs-CRP level was independently associated with plaques at least 6 mm thick; similar trends were observed for the associations of hs-CRP level with plaques at least 4 mm thick and mobile debris. In subjects with aortic plaques who were free of clinically apparent coronary artery or cerebrovascular disease, hs-CRP level was independently associated with plaques at least 6 mm thick.ConclusionsLevel of hs-CRP is independently associated with the presence and severity of aortic atherosclerotic plaques. These observations establish the association of systemic inflammation with anatomically defined atherosclerosis in the general population.

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