CIMT and Plaque Assessment Findings in Subjects Undergoing Stress Echocardiography For Risk Stratification

The purpose of this research study is to determine if carotid artery ultrasound scanning can provide additional information for determining cardiovascular risk in patients. Patients who agree to participate wil undergo non-invasive carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurement and plaque assessment. Findings of CIMT will be compared to results of patient standard of care stress echocardiogram (SE) and of diastolic function. We hypothesize tht 1) in patients undergoing SE for inappropriate or uncertain indications, CIMT and plaque assessment will provide useful risk stratification beyond use of traditional risk factors; 2) CIMT findings will correlate with results of SE in terms of exercise capacity and 3) Exercise capacity will correlate with diastolic function.