Deu no New England e comprova: Medida da IMT precisa de rigor.

The mean intima–media thickness of the common carotid artery was measured over a segment of the common carotid artery that was 1 cm long, located approximately 0.5 cm below the carotid-artery bulb, and considered not to contain any plaque
.
Pearson's correlation coefficient for replicate readings was 0.94 for the mean intima–media thickness of the common carotid artery and 0.76 for the maximum intima–media thickness of the internal carotid artery.
.
Opa! Correlação para a medida máxima não foi tão boa!!! Agora veja a conclusão:
.
Conclusions

The maximum internal and mean common carotid-artery intima–media thicknesses both predict cardiovascular outcomes, but only the maximum intima–media thickness of (and presence of plaque in) the internal carotid artery significantly (albeit modestly) improves the classification of risk of cardiovascular disease in the Framingham Offspring Study cohort.
.

.
Alguns pesquisadores citam esse trabalho e defendem o uso da medida máxima, não usando a média como referência. Aqui nós discordamos dessa orientação. Leia o trabalho e veja se concorda com o blog.
.