These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed


  • Title: Local carotid stiffness and intima-media thickness assessment by a novel ultrasound-based system in essential hypertension.
    Author: Giannarelli C, Bianchini E, Bruno RM, Magagna A, Landini L, Faita F, Gemignani V, Penno G, Taddei S, Ghiadoni L.
    Journal: Atherosclerosis; 2012 Aug; 223(2):372-7. PubMed ID: 22727194.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate local carotid stiffness (CS) and intima-medial thickness (C-IMT) in hypertensive patients with different cardiovascular risk profile, using a new user-friendly ultrasound-based system, previously validated vs. RF-based echotracking device. METHODS: We investigated a population with different cardiovascular risk: 45 healthy normotensives (NT), 90 non-diabetic hypertensives (HT), and 48 patients with hypertension and type-2 diabetes (DM). Framingham risk factor score (FRS) was calculated. PWV was assessed by applanation tonometry. The relative stroke change in diameter (ΔD) and C-IMT were measured on carotid scans. Distensibility coefficient (DC) was calculated as ΔA/(A*ΔP), where A = diastolic lumen area, ΔA = stroke change in lumen area, and ΔP = carotid pulse pressure. CS (m/s) was calculated as (ρ*DC) - 1/2 (ρ = blood density). RESULTS: CS, C-IMT, PWV were significantly increased in HT and DM vs. NT. C-IMT and PWV were significantly higher in DM than HT. ΔD and DC were significantly lower in HT and DM vs. NT. FRS ≥10% group showed increased carotid diameter, C-IMT and CS than the FRS <10%. FRS was (p < 0.001) correlated with CS (r = 0.35); ΔD (r = -0.36), DC (r = 0.35), C-IMT (r = 0.48), PWV (r = 0.38). CS correlated (p < 0.05) with PWV in the entire population (r = 0.37), in the NT (r = 0.35), in the HT and DM (r = 0.20). PWV (r = 0.50) and CS (r = 0.33) were correlated with age. Determinants of aortic and carotid stiffness were identified by multivariate stepwise analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed B-mode ultrasound-based system is a reliable and user-friendly method that could serve to investigate the predictive value of CS for cardiovascular events in future large clinical studies.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]