A Comparative Study of Carotid Magnetic Resonance Plaque Imaging in Predicting the Early Progression of Acute Anterior Circulation Mild Stroke

Abstract

To analyze the biological properties of carotid lumen stenosis and plaque before and after bifurcation of the bilateral carotid arteries in patients with acute anterior circulation mild stroke (AACMS) by 3.0 T high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) with the aim to clarify the predictive effect of 3.0 T HR-MRI on early progression and poor prognosis in patients with AACMS. Random division of 96 patients with AACMS into a stroke progression group and a non-progression group. The bilateral cervical vessels of the patients were detected by HR-MRI. The degree of carotid artery stenosis before and after bilateral carotid bifurcation was evaluated using a vascular plaque imaging diagnostic system. There were significant differences in the maximum and average wall standardization index, maximum wall thickness, maximum wall area, plaque composition, proportion of plaque fibrous cap rupture, and proportion of VI complex plaques in the progressive group. There was no significant difference in the related indexes of bilateral vessels in the non-progressive group (P >0.05). There are significant differences in MRI morphological characteristics of bilateral carotid plaques in patients with AACMS progression. Through a comparative analysis of the plaque load and plaque composition of bilateral carotid arteries using 3.0 T HR-MRI in patients with early-stage AACMS, the type and stability of complex plaques can be identified, which serve as prognostic factors in predicting the early progression of stroke and guiding clinical treatment.