Cardiovascular risk assessment using carotid ultrasonography: The Rotterdam Study

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is the main cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease. These cardiovascular diseases are the most important cause of morbidity and responsible for 50% of all mortality in the United States, Europe and much of Asia. l Since atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are most prominently present in the elderly and the number of elderly people will increase in the coming decades, atherosclerosis-related diseases will put a heavy burden on our health care systems