الفهرس 
Introduction and aim of the work
Non Modifiable risk factorOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Assessment of carotid artery stiffness provides non invasive sufficiently reliable information on the atherosclerotic damage of large arteries. Our essay emphasized the importance of the stiffness index and other associated atherosclerotic changes of the carotid artery as prognostic indicators to the extent of coronary artery disease. The noninvasive evaluation of the carotid stiffness allows the early detection of pathologic acceleration of the aging process and may be useful for prevention of coronary artery disease, which constitutes a major atherosclerotic complication. Carotid stiffness can be calculated by stiffness index β according t the formula: β= [ln (SBP/DBP)/ (D/Dd) Where ln is natural logarithm, SBP is systolic blood pressure, DBP is diastolic blood pressure, D is difference between systolic and diastolic diameters and Dd is diastolic diameter of the common carotid artery. The value of stiffness index in normal individuals can be calculated according to the age in individuals between 40-80 years by the following equation concluded by Hirai et al 1989: β value in the common carotid artery = 0.11 X age +2.8 We had examined 15 cases involving one normal volunteer, one ischemic patient with no coronary artery disease and 13 patients with differing degrees of coronary vessels occlusion. From our results and the review of other authors, we concluded that the value of the stiffness index in the common carotid artery and the other associated atherosclerotic changes. Calculation of the stiffness index can offers an early non-invasive modality to predict the status of the coronary arteries and select patients with high risk for developing coronary heart diseases.