Carotid plaques, but not common carotid intima-media thickness, are independently associated with aortic stiffness.
OBJECTIVE
It has been suggested that non-invasive aortic stiffness measurements can be used as an indicator of atherosclerosis. The relationships of arterial stiffness with arterial wall hypertrophy and atherosclerosis however, have rarely been investigated in large-scale studies. The present study reports the associations of carotid arterial structure assessed by B-mode ultrasound with carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity in hypertensive and non-hypertensive subjects.


METHODS
Free health examinations were performed on 564 subjects (age 58.2 +/- 10.8 years, 31.9% of women, 53.2% of all were hypertensive). Carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (PWV) was used to assess aortic stiffness. Carotid ultrasound examination included measurements (at sites free of plaques) of intima-media thickness (IMT) at the common carotid arteries (CCA), CCA-lumen diameter, and assessment of atherosclerotic plaques in the extracranial carotid arteries.


RESULTS
Subjects with carotid plaques had significantly higher mean sex-adjusted values of PWV than those without carotid plaques (12.7 +/- 0.2 versus 11.1 +/- 0.1 m/s, P < 0.001). Multivariate analyses showed that this association was independent of sex, age, height, body mass index, mean blood pressure, pulse pressure, diabetes, hypercholesterolaemia and smoking habits (P < 0.009). PWV was positively associated with CCA-IMT and CCA-lumen diameter in sex-adjusted analysis (partial correlation coefficients (r ) were respectively 0.39 and 0.42, P < 0.001 for each). However, the association of PWV with CCA-IMT, but not that with CCA-lumen diameter, disappeared after further adjustment for age and blood pressure measurements (mean blood pressure and/or pulse pressure).


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that there is a differential association of PWV with CCA-IMT and carotid plaques. The nature of the independent positive association between atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness should be thoroughly investigated.
Zureik
Mahmoud
M
National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Unit 258, Hôpital Paul Brousse, 16 av. Paul Vaillant Couturier, 94807 Villejuif Cedex, France. zureik@vjf.inserm.fr
Temmar
Mohammed
M
Adamopoulos
Chris
C
Bureau
Jeanne-Marie
JM
Courbon
Dominique
D
Thomas
Frédérique
F
Bean
Kathryn
K
Touboul
Pierre-Jean
PJ
Ducimetière
Pierre
P
Benetos
Athanase
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010297:Paris / Q000453:epidemiology; D011674:Pulse; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D014463:Ultrasonography
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents