Association between Carotid Wall Shear Rate and Arterial Stiffness in Patients with Hypertension and Atherosclerosis of Peripheral Arteries

Table 2

Ultrasound morphologic classification of atherosclerotic vessel wall.

Class	Ultrasound Morphology	Score
I	Normal: 3 ultrasonic layers clearly separated; CIMT ≤ 0.9 mm	2
II	Intima-media granulation: granular echogenicity of deep, normally anechoic intimal-medial layer and/or increased intima-media thickness (≥0.9 mm)	4
III	Plaque without hemodynamic disturbance: focal structures encroaching into the arterial lumen of at least 0.5 mm or 50% of the surrounding CIMT value, or CIMT >1.5 mm	6
IV	Stenotic plaque: as in class III, but with hemodynamic stenosis on duplex scanning, indicating stenosis >50%	8

CIMT: carotid intima-media thickness.