Carotid artery atheromas and calcifications among postmenopausal women with histories of cerebrovascular or cardiovascular problems

Objectives The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of carotid stenosis and its relationship with carotid artery calcifications among postmenopausal women with recent histories of stroke or ischemic heart diseases (IHD), and to compare these findings with healthy controls. Methods Forty-five postmenopausal Iraqi women were recruited for the study. Of these, 15 were considered healthy according to their clinical and biochemical investigations, 15 had a recent history of stroke, and 15 had a history of myocardial infarction and/or angina pectoris. All participants underwent dental panoramic imaging (DPI) to investigate their carotid artery calcifications, and carotid region Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) for observation of narrowing and measurements of peak systolic velocity, peak end-diastolic velocity, and percent stenosis of the carotid arteries on both sides. Results All 90 carotid arteries were examined. The sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) were used to determine the diagnostic performances of DPI and DUS in detecting significant stenosis. The PPVs of carotid atheromal calcifications (CACs) detected by DPI and atheromatous plaque detected by DUS for predicting significant carotid artery stenosis were high among patients with a history of IHDs and patients with a history of stroke. The prevalence ratios of CACs were 2.7 and 2.3 times higher in these groups than in the control group, respectively. Conclusions Carotid artery calcifications may predispose postmenopausal women to cerebrovascular events. The presence of carotid artery calcifications on DPI of postmenopausal women necessitates the use of DUS as a cost-effective method to confirm the diagnosis.