The Correlation Between The Degree Of Basilar Artery Tortuosity And Atherosclerotic Vulnerable Plaque

Objectives To explore the impact of basilar artery tortuosity on vulnerable plaque by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging(HR-MRI)vessel wall imaging technology,and to further analyze the relationship between basilar artery tortuosity and vulnerable plaque characteristics.Methods 213 patients who had undergone HR-MRI vessel wall imaging in Hebei general hospital from April 2017 to December 2019 were chosen in the study.HR-MRI provided the information of atherosclerotic plaque,vulnerable plaque and vulnerable characteristics.Magnetic resonance angiography(MRA)provided the information of the degree of basilar artery tortuosity.The patients were divided into two groups: Non vulnerable plaque(NVP)and vulnerable plaque(VP).The degree of basilar artery tortuosity included non severe tortuosity of basilar artery(NSTBA)and severe tortuosity of basilar artery(STBA).The demographic data,laboratory examination,degree of basilar artery tortuosity and characteristics of basilar atherosclerotic plaque were collected.T-test,χ~2 test,non-parametric test,univariate analysis,multivariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis were used.Results 1 There were 213 patients collected,and 15.5%(33/213)of them had vulnerable plaque in basilar artery.Univariate analysis for VP indicated: STBA was strongly associated with VP(OR=4.524,95%CI 2.043-10.017,P<0.001).Elderly population(OR=1.040,95%CI 1.008-1.073,P=0.014)and hypertension(OR=3.044,95%CI 1.179-7.855,P=0.021)were connected with VP.2 Multivariate logistic regression analysis evaluated the effect of STBA on VP(OR=4.025,95%CI 1.644-9.851,P= 0.002).There was a positive significant correlation between STBA and VP.3 VP and total score of VP were strongly related to STBA(P<0.001).Intraplaque hemorrhage(TPH)and the degree of plaque enhancement were related to STBA(P<0.05).Whether it was plaque,plaque numders,the degree of stenosis and discontinuous fiber cap were irrelated to STBA(P>0.05).4 Multivariate linear regression analysis evaluated the effect of STBA on the total score of VP.The results showed that there was a significant correlation between the STBA and the total score of vulnerable plaque(P<0.05)adjusted for potential confounding factors.The regression coefficient B=0.346,indicating that the more tortuous the basilar artery is,the higher the total vulnerable plaque score will be.Conclusions 1 There is a positive significant correlation between the degree of basilar artery tortuosity and vulnerable plaque.2 The more tortuous the basilar artery is,the higher the total vulnerable plaque score will be.3 Severe tortuosity of basilar artery is related to intraplaque hemorrhage and the degree of plaque enhancement,irrelated to whether it is plaque,plaque numders,the degree of stenosis or discontinuous fiber cap.Figure 7;Table 5;Reference 121...