Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)

Method

Distance between the lumen-intima and the media-adventitia interfaces of the far wall of the common carotid artery on B-mode ultrasound, averaged over a stated segment length. Arterial segment and reading protocol recorded on the edge.

The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.

Notes

A diffuse wall dimension read in a smooth segment. Will be confused with the summed focal lesion score and with the focal lesion count derived from the same ultrasound examination and printed in the same table: one is a continuous wall thickness, the others are focal-lesion burden measures, and a patient can hold a normal value here alongside substantial focal disease. They are not substitutes and must not be pooled as a single vascular structure endpoint.