Abstract
Background
Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a widely used noninvasive marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, yet its relationship with angiographic coronary disease complexity, quantified with the SYNTAX score, remains incompletely characterized. This study evaluated the correlations between CIMT, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), the Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), and SYNTAX score in patients with angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD) in coastal South India.Methods
A total of 115 consecutive patients with proven CAD undergoing elective coronary angiography (≥ 50% stenosis) were enrolled. B‑mode ultrasonography was used to measure CIMT bilaterally. Lipid profiles were obtained from fasting samples, and AIP was computed as log(TG/HDL-C). Pearson correlations, ANOVA, and multivariate logistic regression were used for analysis.Results
Mean CIMT was positively correlated with both SYNTAX score (r = 0.192, p = 0.039) and LDL‑C (r = 0.207, p = 0.026). SYNTAX scores increased progressively across single-, double-, and triple-vessel disease groups (F = 25.50, p Conclusion
The SYNTAX score increased significantly with increasing vessel involvement, and CIMT was modestly correlated with SYNTAX score and LDL‑C. Age was the sole independent predictor of high-complexity CAD. These preliminary findings suggest that CIMT may have potential as a supplementary marker of coronary complexity, but this requires confirmation in larger, prospective studies before any clinical application can be recommended.