Echocardiographic evaluation of the elasticity of the ascending aorta in patients with essential hypertension

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is the most common chronic disease and the most important risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Atheroma and arteriosclerosis plays a key role in the occurrence and development of hypertension. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the elasticity of ascending aorta wall in patients with essential hypertension (EH) using M-mode echocardiography.Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled 54 EH patients and 51 healthy subjects (HS). They all underwent transthoracic echocardiography to measure ascending aorta inner diameters and brachial blood pressure measurement to calculate aortic elastic variables: compliance, distensibility, strain, stiffness index, and Peterson's elastic modulus. All participants also underwent bilateral carotid ultrasonographic examination.Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and ascending aorta inner diameters between the two groups.We found neither intimal thickening nor plaque formation in the left or right carotid arteries in both groups. The aortic elastic properties were significantly impaired in EH patients compared with HS.Conclusions: Echocardiography can be used for the noninvasive evaluation of ascending aorta wall elasticity as an early screening technique. Subclinical arteriosclerosis appeared to occur in the ascending aorta of patients with essential hypertension even though carotid ultrasonography was normal.

Alterations in Aortic Elasticity Indices among Type 2 Diabetes Patients in a Low and Middle Income Country Using M-Mode Echocardiography: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study

“…The T2DM group had considerably lower AC, AD, and AS indices than did the comparison group but had higher ASI and AEM. This study successfully reproduced the findings previously reported by Malgorzata Dec-Gilowska et al [17]. Furthermore, our findings are consistent with those of Liu et al, who conducted a study on individuals with diabetes patients and concluded that these patients are more likely to experience arterial stiffness than healthy individuals are [25].…”

“…and aortic Peterson's elastic modulus (AEM) mmHg = [(SBP -DBP) x AoD]/(AoS -AoD). Note: AoS refers to the aortic end-systolic diameter; AoD denotes the aortic end-diastolic diameter; SBP represents systolic blood pressure; DBP stands for diastolic blood pressure [16][17][18].…”

“…It is generally known that vascular elasticity often begins to decline in middle age and worsens over time [17]. Throughout the aging process, the elasticity of the endothelium layer gradually decreases, which has a significant impact on the structure of the arteries due to reduced elastic fiber activity, particularly in major arteries such as the aorta [22].…”

Biomechanical properties of the ascending aorta in patients with primary hypertension by velocity vector imaging

“…The authors found a negative correlation between the CS and pulse wave velocity. In addition, some investigators assessed aortic elasticity via M-mode echocardiography or tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in hypertensive patients, demonstrating that hypertensive patients have reduced aortic elasticity (22)(23)(24) .…”

“…In our study, there was a signi cant correlation between VVI parameters and the aortic elastic parameters D and SI. D and SI have been proven to re ect changes in aortic elasticity in many studies (22,23,27) . These ndings indicate that VVI could sensitively and directly re ect the elasticity of the vascular wall in evaluating early aortic biomechanical dysfunction.…”