Utility of Clinical Examination in the Noninvasive Prediction of Aortic Atheroma - A Prospective Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00590616

Enrollment

125

Registered

2008-01-10

Start date

2005-02-28

Completion date

2014-07-31

Last updated

2014-08-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Atherosclerosis

Keywords

Aortic atheroma

Brief summary

Aortic atheroma has been correlated with traditional cardiac risk factors, coronary, carotid, renal and peripheral atherosclerosis, and is probably a manifestation of generalized atherosclerosis. Aortic atheroma has also been shown to be associated with atrial fibrillation, aortic valve sclerosis, and other calcification of the fibrous skeleton of the heart. None of the previous studies have looked at the noninvasive prediction of aortic atheroma using the history and physical signs of cardiovascular disease. This would be a time and cost-effective bedside diagnostic tool that would be useful prior to cardiac surgery, cardiac catheterization, and workup of ischemic stroke patients, especially when transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) is being considered for diagnosis but cannot be obtained due to previously mentioned reasons. Although physical examination of peripheral vascular disease is non-specific, a combination of physical examination signs increases the probability of generalized atherosclerosis.

Interventions

PROCEDUREtransthoracic examination

observational transthoracic examination

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

19 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* All consecutive patients who are referred for transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) since the primary endpoint is diagnosis of aortic atheroma on TEE

Exclusion criteria

* No exclusion after consent for TEE is obtained. Decision not to perform TEE at the discretion of treating physician

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Identify clinical predictors of aortic atheromatous disease and develop risk score to identify with reasonable accuracy the presence of any aortic atheromatous disease and severe atheromatous disease (grade 4 & 5).	6 month. 1 year and 2 year

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Demonstrate the incremental value of physical exam signs to the history.	6 month, 1 and 2 years
Follow-up on embolic events - transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke and mortality and effect of medications	6 months, 1 and 2 years

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026