Associations between the retinal/choroidal microvasculature and carotid plaque in patients with CAD: An OCTA study

Background: To investigate the associations between retinal/choroidal microvasculature and carotid plaque in patients with CAD assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: This study included 127 CAD patients with and 79 without carotid plaque. Each patient had both OCTA taken and digitized to determine retinal/choroidal thickness, vessel density and flow area and carotid ultrasound for carotid plaque size and stability measurement. The superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), out retina and choriocapillaris vessel density, out retina and choriocapillaris flow area, and full retina thickness were analyzed in the fovea centered 6 × 6 mm area. The association between OCTA measurements and carotid plaque characteristics in patients with CAD were evaluated. Results: The duration of hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) was significantly longer in CAD patients with carotid plaque than that without (p