According to carotid artery ultrasonography, 129 patients with carotid atherosclerosis were enrolled. ¹⁴C urea breath test was used to determine Hp infection. Meanwhile, enzymatic cycling method was used to determine serum Hcy levels .

Serum Hcy levels and CIMT of patients with carotid atherosclerosis in Hp infection group were higher than those in Hp non-infection group (P<0.01), and they increased with the severity of Hp infection with statistical significance (P<0.01). The plaque detection rate in Hp infection group was higher than that of Hp non-infection group(P<0.05), and the incidence of vulnerable plaques in Hp infection group was obviously higher than that in Hp non-infection group(P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the possibility of vulnerable plaques in Hp infection group was 2.35 times higher than that in Hp non-infection group. With serum Hcy increasing by 1 μmol/L, the possibility of vulnerable plaque increased by 9%.

Hp infection is likely to promote the development and progression of carotid atherosclerosis through influencing Hcy metabolism and increasing CIMT and the instability of carotid atherosclerotic plaque.