Although angiographic evidence of coronary atherosclerosis is one of the best predictors of clinical events, non-invasive imaging of this arterial bed is not yet possible. The availability of non-invasive methods for imaging the carotid arteries, and the intra-individual similarity of extent of disease in the coronary and carotid arteries provides rationale for this study that assesses the usefulness of B-mode ultrascan evaluation of extracranial carotid artery atherosclerosis as an independent predictor of clinical sequelae such as fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and stroke.