Atherosclerotic Calcification: Determinants and Clinical Neurological Consequences

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a highly frequent vascular disease that exerts huge influence on the health care system. Major clinical conditions caused by atherosclerosis are ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction) and stroke, both top causes of global morbidity and mortality in middle-aged and elderly persons. Due to the aging of the population, the global burden of atherosclerosis, and thereby of its clinical consequences, will continue to rise in the coming decades. The purpose of my thesis is to expand the knowledge on determinants - or risk factors - and neurological consequences of atherosclerosis, with a specific focus on differences across vessel beds. The research described in my thesis was performed within the framework of the Rotterdam Study;21 a large prospective, population-based cohort study aimed at investigating determinants of various chronic diseases in the elderly. Using CT-imaging in this population-based setting, I studied atherosclerosis in four major vessel beds: the coronary arteries, aortic arch and the extracranial and intracranial part of the internal carotid arteries.