Carotid and peripheral atherosclerosis in patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention and outcome associated with multifocal atherosclerosis.

AIM: The aim of our study was to determine if patients with multifocal atherosclerosis have a worse prognosis than patients with atherosclerosis only in the coronary bed. METHODS: We studied 45 subjects admitted to intensive coronary care unit of the Division of Cardiology with the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Traditional cardiovascular risk factors were investigated and laboratory analysis included measurement of plasma lipids, glycemia, fibrinogen and high-sensitivity-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Each patient underwent coronary-angiography as well as carotid and peripheral arterial ultrasound examination. A follow-up of 13+/-2 months was performed. RESULTS: We found tha…