Reference values for local arterial stiffness. Part A: Carotid artery
RIS ID
123576
Abstract
Objective: Non-invasive measures of common carotid artery properties, such as diameter and distension, and pulse pressure, have been widely used to determine carotid artery distensibility coefficient - a measure of carotid stiffness (stiffness ∼1/distensibility coefficient). Carotid stiffness has been associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may therefore be a useful intermediate marker for CVD. We aimed to establish age and sex-specific reference intervals of carotid stiffness. Methods: We combined data on 22708 individuals (age range 15-99 years, 54% men) from 24 research centres worldwide. Individuals without CVD and established cardiovascular risk factors constituted a healthy sub-population (n=3601, 48% men) and were used to establish sex-specific equations for percentiles of carotid distensibility coefficient across age. Results: In the sub-population without CVD and treatment (n=12906, 52% men), carotid distensibility coefficient Z-scores based on these percentile equations were independently and negatively associated, in men and women, respectively, with diabetes {-0.28 [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.41; -0.15] and -0.27 (-0.43; -0.12)}, mean arterial pressure [-0.26 (-0.29; -0.24) and -0.32 (-0.35; -0.29)] , total-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio [-0.05 (-0.09; -0.02) and -0.05 (-0.11; 0.01)] and BMI [-0.06 (-0.09; -0.04) and -0.05 (-0.08; -0.02)] , whereas these were positively associated with smoking [0.30 (0.24; 0.36) and 0.24 (0.18; 0.31)]. Conclusions: We estimated age and sex-specific percentiles of carotid stiffness in a healthy population and assessed the association between cardiovascular risk factors and carotid distensibility coefficient Z-scores, which enables comparison of carotid stiffness values between (patient) groups with different cardiovascular risk profiles, helping interpretation of such measures.
Publication Details
Engelen, L., Bossuyt, J., Ferreira, I., Van Bortel, L. M., Reesink, K. D., Segers, P., Stehouwer, C. D., Laurent, S. & Boutouyrie, P. (2015). Reference values for local arterial stiffness. Part A: Carotid artery. Journal of Hypertension, 33 (10), 1981-1996.