Atherosclerosis Imaging Research Program (AIRP)

The University of Wisconsin Atherosclerosis Imaging Research Program (UW AIRP) is a core ultrasound reading and training laboratory for:

• clinical and epidemiological research studies that use ultrasound-based research tools as surrogates for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk:
  • carotid artery intima-media thickness (carotid IMT or CIMT)
  • carotid artery plaque detection and acoustic characterization
  • brachial artery reactivity testing (BART)
  • arterial stiffness (by tonometry and/or ultrasound)
  • assessment of cardiac structure, function, and coronary blood flow (by echocardiography)
• clinical programs that want to use carotid IMT measurements and carotid plaque detection for evaluation of subclinical atherosclerosis and assessment of cardiovascular risk

We also perform electrocardiography-based research including 12-lead ECGs, treadmill stress testing, metabolic stress testing, and Holter monitoring as well as ambulatory blood pressure measurement.

1. Gepner AD, Korcarz CE, Colangelo LA, Hom E, Tattersall MC, Astor BC, Kaufman JD, Liu K, Stein JH. Longitudinal effects of a decade of aging on carotid artery stiffness: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Stroke 2014; 45:48-53. doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.113.002649. PMID: 24253542. PMCID: PMC3888489.
   
2.   Tattersall MC, Gassett A, Korcarz CE, Gepner AD, Kaufman JD, Liu KJ, Astor BC, Sheppard L, Kronmal RA, Stein JH. Predictors of carotid thickness and plaque progression over a decade of aging: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Stroke 2014; 45:3257-3262. doi.org/10.1161/strokeaha.114.005669. PMID: 25213342. PMCID: PMC4213289
3.   Liu Y, Reynolds LM, Ding J, Hou L, Lohman K, Young T, Cui W, Huang Z, Grenier C, Wan M, Stunnenberg HG, Siscovick D, Hou L, Psaty BM, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Kaufman JD, Burke GL, Murphy S, Jacobs DR Jr, Post W, Hoeschele I, Bell DA, Herrington D, Parks JS, Tracy RP, McCall CE, Stein JH. Blood monocyte transcriptome and epigenome analyses reveal loci associated with human atherosclerosis. Nature Communications 2017; 30:393. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00517-4. PMID: 28855511. PMCID: PMC5577184.
4.   McDermott MM, Ferrucci L Tian L, Guralnick JM, Lloyd-Jones D, Kibbe MR, Polonsky TS, Domanchuk K, Stein JH, Taylor D, Skelly C, Pearce W, Perlman H, McCarthy W, Li L, Gao Y, Sufit R, Bloomfield CL, Criqui MH. Effect of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor with or without supervised exercise on walking performance in patients with peripheral artery disease: the PROPEL randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2017; 318:2089-2098. doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.17437. PMID: 29141087.
5.   Mitchell CC, Korcarz CE, Gepner AD, Nye R, Young RL, Matsuzaki M, Post WS, McClelland RL, Stein JH. Carotid artery echolucency, texture features, and incident cardiovascular disease events: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Journal of the American Heart Association 2019; 8:e010875 doi.org/10.1161/jaha.118.010875  PMID: 30681393. PMCID: PMC6405595.
6.   Stein JH, Kime N, Korcarz CE, Ribaudo H, Currier JS, Delaney JC. Effects of HIV infection on arterial endothelial function: Results from a large pooled cohort analysis. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 2021; 41:512-522. doi.org/10.1161/atvbaha.120.315435. PMID: 33327750. PMCID: PMC7770018.