Abdominal aortic wall motion of healthy and hypertensive subjects: evaluation of tissue Doppler velocity imaging.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the potential clinical application of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) for motion measurement of the aortic wall in healthy and hypertensive adults.


METHODS
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 (beta) 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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Huang
Ying
Y
Department of Ultrasound in Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, 200233, China.
Hu
Bing
B
Huang
Pin-Tong
PT
Sun
Hai-Yan
HY
Zhu
Jia-An
JA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003971:Diastole; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013599:Systole; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color