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Finds out which atherosclerotic plaques are responsible for stroke
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Russian scientists have used the latest ultrasound technology to confirm that one of the main causes of stroke is soft atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid sinus (the area where the common carotid artery widens before it branches into the external and internal arteries). The results of their study were presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Echocardiography. Using a special ultrasound technique that can detect plaque deformation or mobility under the influence of blood flow, Oleg B. Kerbikov, PhD, from the 31st City Clinical Hospital of Moscow, and his colleagues found that some of the plaques in the carotid sinus are highly mobile. The most mobile part of the plaques is the nucleus. “We have known for a long time that the rupture of soft carotid plaques is one of the main causes of ischemic stroke, but until now scientists did not know where they come from or how exactly they rupture,” the author explains.
The study involved 15 patients who had suffered a stroke no more than 21 days ago. The average age of the patients was 60 years, 8 of them were men. The scientists suggested that in order to break off, plaques must have special mobility. A special ultrasound technique allowed the scientists to assess the degree and speed of stretching of carotid sinus plaques. For comparison, a similar study was conducted in a control group consisting of 5 healthy patients (3 men and 2 women) of the same age and similar risk factors.
Among the carotid sinus plaques found in patients, the researchers identified symptomatic and asymptomatic plaques. Symptomatic plaques were characterized by low echogenicity, which means that the plaque is quite soft and fragile in structure. Ultrasound showed that the nuclei of such plaques have a significantly increased degree and rate of stretching compared to asymptomatic plaques. According to scientists, it is these soft symptomatic plaques that are easily subject to ruptures and tears from the wall of the carotid artery due to the increased instability of the nucleus. By blocking a small blood vessel in the brain, such plaques cause
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