Echo-tracking technology assessment of carotid artery stiffness in patients with coronary slow flow

Song Yang; De-Zhao Wang; Hong-Xia Zhang; Wen He; Bu-Xing Chen

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.08.015

Echo-tracking technology assessment of carotid artery stiffness in patients with coronary slow flow

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2015 Jan;41(1):72-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.08.015. Epub 2014 Nov 14.

Authors

Song Yang¹, De-Zhao Wang², Hong-Xia Zhang¹, Wen He³, Bu-Xing Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ultrasonography, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Cardiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: dezhao.w@126.com.
³ Department of Ultrasonography, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: 168hewen@sina.com.
⁴ Department of Cardiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

PMID: 25438843
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2014.08.015

Abstract

Coronary slow flow (CSF) in coronary angiography (CAG) is a well-recognized clinical entity. Previous studies have suggested that microvascular abnormalities and endothelial dysfunction are responsible for CSF. Accordingly, we hypothesized that the CSF phenomenon is a form of atherosclerosis including both small vessels and epicardial coronary arteries. The echo-tracking (ET) technique is a non-invasive detection method for early prediction of arterial atherosclerosis. Therefore, we investigated carotid elasticity with the ET technique in patients with CSF. Fifty patients with CSF and 50 patients with normal coronary artery blood flow, as determined by CAG, with a similar distribution of risk factors were recruited. The stiffness parameter (β), pressure-strain elastic modulus (Ep), arterial compliance (AC), augmentation index (AIx) and local pulse-wave velocity (PWV) were determined at the level of the bilateral common carotid artery (CCA) with using the ET technique. Levels of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-HSCRP) were determined for the two groups. β, Ep and PWV were significantly higher in the CSF group than in the control group (β: 11.4 ± 3.76 vs. 9.22 ± 3.28, p < 0.01; Ep: 153.44 ± 47.85 vs. 126.40 ± 43.32, p < 0.01; PWV: 7.26 ± 1.10 vs. 6.55 ± 1.02, p < 0.01), but AC was lower in the CSF group than in the control group (0.62 ± 0.20 vs. 0.74 ± 0.24, p < 0.01). The elasticity parameters of the bilateral common carotid artery did not significantly differ. The level of hs-HSCRP was correlated positively with β (r = 0.306, p = 0.015), Ep (r = 0.358, p = 0.005) and PWV (r = 0.306, p = 0.015), but negatively with AC (r = -0.236, p = 0.049). In conclusion, the ET technique is a simple practical method for evaluating carotid artery elasticity, and there is a significant correlation between carotid artery stiffness and level of hs-HSCRP in patients with CSF.

Keywords: Carotid artery; Coronary slow flow; Echo-tracking technology; High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; Ultrasonography.

MeSH terms

Carotid Arteries / diagnostic imaging
Carotid Arteries / physiopathology*
Carotid Artery Diseases / complications
Carotid Artery Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
Carotid Artery Diseases / physiopathology*
Coronary Stenosis / complications
Coronary Stenosis / diagnostic imaging*
Coronary Stenosis / physiopathology*
Echocardiography / methods*
Elastic Modulus
Elasticity Imaging Techniques / methods*
Female
Humans
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods
Male
Middle Aged
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Stress, Mechanical