The ARIC Carotid MRI Study is an ancillary study for the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. This project will identify novel cellular, metabolic and genomic correlates of plaque and early pathologic changes in the arterial wall and determine their consequences for coronary heart disease and stroke using the ARIC Study biracial cohort, which has completed four examinations from 1987-1998 and continues to collect follow up data on incident CHD and stroke.

This ancillary study will include a brief re-examination of a subset of the original ARIC cohort, 1200 participants with high values of carotid artery wall thickness and a random sample of 800 of those with normal thickness with even numbers of participants from each of the four field centers. The exam will include an MRI of the carotid artery, biologic specimen collection, information on risk factors, and data on new arteriolosclerosis as measured by retinal photography