Abdominal aortic wall motion of healthy and hypertensive subjects: Evaluation of tissue Doppler velocity imaging

• Published in: Journal of clinical ultrasound 2008-05, Vol.36 (4), p.218-225
• Main Authors: Huang, Ying, Hu, Bing, Huang, Pin-Tong, Sun, Hai-Yan, Zhu, Jia-An
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abdominal aorta; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aorta, Abdominal - diagnostic imaging; Aorta, Abdominal - physiology; Aorta, Abdominal - physiopathology; Diastole; Female; Humans; hypertension; Hypertension - diagnostic imaging; Hypertension - physiopathology; Male; Middle Aged; pulse wave transmit time; Regression Analysis; Systole; tissue Doppler imaging; Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; wall motion velocity
• ISSN: 0091-2751; 1097-0096
• DOI: 10.1002/jcu.20452

Purpose. To investigate the potential clinical application of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) for motion measurement of the aortic wall in healthy and hypertensive adults. Method. We used TDI to examine 53 hypertensive and 29 sex‐matched healthy adults. Maximum velocity of the first and second systolic wall expansion peaks (S1, S2), maximum velocity of early (D) and end (E) diastolic retraction velocity peaks, pulse wave transmit time (PWTT), and stiffness index (β) of the abdominal aorta were measured and compared as for factors influencing vascular compliance, including age, sex, and blood pressure. Results. Compared with the healthy subjects, the wall motion waveform of hypertensive patients showed absent E, mixed S1 and S2 peaks, and blunted S1. S1 and D were lower in hypertensive than in healthy subjects. Shortened PWTT and increased indicated increased aortic stiffness in both male and female hypertensive subects when compared with controls. Age, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and sex were the significant independent factors modulating S1, while DBP and age were the significant independent factors modulating D. PWTT was independently influenced by age and systolic blood pressure. Conclusion. This study provides evidence that abdominal aortic wall motion measurement with TDI could demonstrate qualitative and quantitative wall motion features differentiating hypertensive from healthy adults. Wall motion velocity and PWTT could reflect abdominal aortic compliance changes related to age, sex, and blood pressure. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2008.