The role of the red cell distribution width in carotid artery disease

• Autor(a) principal: Duarte-Gamas,Luís
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Pereira-Neves,António, Fragão-Marques,Mariana, Vilaça,Isabel, Rocha-Neves,João P., Teixeira,José
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://scielo.pt/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1646-706X2020000300016
• topic: Carotid artery disease; Erythrocyte size determination; Biomarkers

Introduction: Carotid disease affects 3-4% of the general population. The association between systemic low-grade inflammation and atherosclerosis has led to the study of blood biomarkers, such as red blood cell distribution width - coefficient of variation (RDW-CV), and their role in the pathophysiology and prognosis of carotid artery disease. The aim of this study was to review the literature regarding the relevance of RDW-CV in carotid artery disease. Methods: A Medline search was performed in order to identify publications focused on the physiopathology of RDW-CV and its impact in patients with carotid artery disease Results: Increased RDW-CV was associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in several studies. It was associated with plaque presence and progression. One study demonstrated an independent association between all-cause and cardiovascular-related mortality in patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis and increased RDW-CV. Conclusion: RDW-CV is a widely available, easy to measure, and low-cost marker that seems to be associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis. However, further studies are needed in order to determine its clinical relevance in this setting.