Korean Circ J.  2013 Jun;43(6):391-399. 10.4070/kcj.2013.43.6.391.

Correlation between Proximal Abdominal Aortic Stiffness Measured by Ultrasound and Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity

• Lim YH
• Enkhdorj R
• Kim BK
• Kim SG
• Kim JH
• Shin J

• KMID: 2224900
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4070/kcj.2013.43.6.391

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The proximal portion of the abdominal aorta (AA) is characterized by minimal arteriosclerosis compared with other aortic segments. To assess the clinical usefulness of this characteristic, the correlation between ultrasonographically measured proximal AA stiffness and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was examined.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
285 subjects were analyzed, half with hypertension and half with normal blood pressure. Proximal AA was examined using ultrasonography; strain, distensibility, elastic modulus, and the stiffness index were determined. After adjustment for age, gender, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and heart rate, the relationships between baPWV and all these parameters were tested.
RESULTS
The mean age of the study subjects was 58.1+/-12.8 years and the mean BMI was 24.3+/-3.8 kg/cm2. 58.9% of the subjects were female. 42.8% were hypertensive subjects. Among the hypertensive subjects, 56.0% were taking antihypertensive medication. Adjusted partial correlation coefficients for the relationship between baPWV with strain, distensibility, elastic modulus, and the stiffness index of the proximal AA were -0.203 (p=0.01), -0.121 (p=0.129), 0.304 (p=0.0001), and 0.299 (p=0.0001), respectively, in normotensive subjects. In the multivariate analyses, such correlations were observed mainly in the normotensive group, whereas there was no association among hypertensive subjects regardless of antihypertensive medication status.
CONCLUSION
baPWV is moderately correlated with the stiffness parameters for the proximal AA, mainly in normotensive subjects.

Keyword

Abdominal aorta; Arteriosclerosis; Blood pressure; Elastic modulus; Pulse wave velocity

MeSH Terms

Aorta, Abdominal
Arteriosclerosis
Blood Pressure
Body Mass Index
Elastic Modulus
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Hypertension
Multivariate Analysis
Pulse Wave Analysis
Sprains and Strains
Vascular Stiffness

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Measurement of abdominal aortic strain. A sector probe was placed at the epigastrium targeting the spine, which typically shows a prominent anterior wall excursion and a relatively fixed posterior wall. *Abdominal aorta abutting spine posteriorly. AAoD: minimal diastolic abdominal aortic dimension at the onset of the QRS wave, AAoS: maximal systolic abdominal aortic dimension.

• 

  Fig. 2 Scatter plots for the correlation between proximal abdominal aortic strain and mean brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity according to hypertension status. The correlation was higher in normotensive subjects than in hypertensive subjects.

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  Fig. 3 baPWV according to the quartiles of the stiffness parameters of the proximal AA. A: least square means adjusted for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and body mass index according to the quartile groups of the stiffness parameters of the proximal AA in normotensive subjects. B: least square means additionally adjusted for antihypertensive medication status, according to the quartile groups of the stiffness parameters of the proximal AA in hypertensive subjects. There was no difference observed in baPWV between the quartiles of the stiffness parameters of the proximal AA in the hypertensive group. baPWV: brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, AA: abdominal aorta.

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