What is it?
The IMT (Intima Media Thickness) scan is a high resolution vascular ultrasound which measures arterial wall thickness and its character. IMT refers to a measurement of the first two layers of the carotid artery. The measured thickness is a marker of early atherosclerosis and its progression.

How is an IMT scan performed?
During an IMT scan, an ultrasound technician will glide an ultrasound probe over the skin of the neck, carefully surveying the carotid arteries using high-resolution computer imaging. This process takes about fifteen minutes and is completely noninvasive. The images are analyzed with IMT software that automatically detects the edges of the vessel wall layers and measures them. Then, this data is compared with a database to reveal the patient’s risk relative to large population-based studies’ normative values for the same age, race and gender. The report can accurately assess the presence of disease, predict cardiovascular events and evaluate the progression or regression of disease before there are symptoms.

SonoSite “An Ounce of Prevention” article
Article: www.sonosite.com/primarycare

“At the Heart Prevention Clinic of Idaho, Dr. Bryan Pogue and his lipidologist partners are tackling cardiovascular disease by maintaining an intense focus on preventing and even reversing disease, rather than waiting to correct its consequences” quoted a 2007 article published by SonoSite. In the article, the fact that the medical community as a whole is shifting toward earlier and more aggressive preventative care is stressed, which highlights the value of IMT and Cardiovascular risk profiling. Dr. Pogue’s co-authorship and investigation in the landmark OPACA (Office Practice Assessment of Carotid Atherosclerosis) Study sponsored by SonoSite is also mentioned.

Statins at McDonald’s
Article: www.medscape.com/viewarticle/726921

An article presents the new proposal from British cardiologists that statins, medication aiming to offset fat found in unhealthy meals, be offered alongside condiments at fast-food resturaunts. Dr. Darrel Francis (Imperial College London, UK) said, “If patients need to see a doctor before they take a statin, then how come they don’t need medical advice to eat a hamburger?”. One risk that bothers Francis is that patients might begin to think that they can eat larger quantities of whatever they want with the addition of the statin. Some cardiologists disagree with the proposal based on the fact that cardiovascular disease is based on multiple risk factors, not diet and fat/cholesterol control alone. Others say that doing something good to counteract something negative only to end with a neutral result is not worth it. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA) said, “We want to maximize the good. If somebody needs to take a statin, and they benefit from a statin and are compliant with that statin, then they should take the drug and gain the benefit, and they should also focus on gaining the benefit from a healthy diet. Why would you not want to do both?”.