To relate distribution of adipose tissue measured by a then new imaging technique, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to extracranial carotid atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and to more conventional measures of fat distribution such as body mass index (BMI) and waist/hip ratio. The primary hypothesis was that patients with extracranial carotid atherosclerosis (cases) had more intra-abdominal fat and a higher ratio of intra-abdominal fat to total or subcutaneous fat than age-sex-race matched controls.