Quantitative assessment of maternal common carotid artery mechanics using velocity vector imaging in pre-eclampsia.
OBJECTIVE
Velocity vector imaging (VVI) is widely used to quantify cardiac mechanical deformation. This study sought to determine whether VVI could be used to evaluate the stiffness of maternal peripheral arteries in women with pre-eclampsia.


METHODS
Twenty-four women with pre-eclampsia and 34 normotensive pregnant women were recruited. Longitudinal and circumferential peak velocity, strain and strain rate of the right common carotid artery (CCA) were measured. All measurements were averaged from three consecutive cardiac cycles and expressed as mean ± standard deviation.


RESULTS
Longitudinal velocity, strain and strain rate of the anterior and posterior walls of the CCA were significantly lower in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension compared with normotensive pregnant women [velocity: 0.22 ± 0.09 cm/s vs 0.29 ± 0.09 cm/s (p<0.01) and 0.24 ± 0.10 cm/s vs 0.34 ± 0.13 cm/s (p<0.01); strain: 8.50 ± 4.92% vs 12.2 ± 6.21% (p<0.01) and 10.11 ± 5.02% vs 14.21 ± 6.48% (p<0.05); strain rate: 1.62 ± 1.14 s(-1) vs 2.24 ± 1.13 s(-1) (p<0.05) and 1.91 ± 0.99 s(-1) vs 2.45 ± 0.97 s(-1) (p<0.05)]. Similar results were also found for circumferential velocity, strain and strain rate of the anterior and posterior walls, and the interior and exterior lateral walls of the CCA.


CONCLUSIONS
Stiffness of the maternal CCA was significantly greater in women with pre-eclampsia compared with normotensive pregnant women. VVI may have potential for quantitative assessment of vascular mechanical deformation in the clinical setting.
Department of Ultrasound Diagnostics, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, China.
Xiao Ju
XJ
Ma
Yun You
YY
Duan
Li Jun
LJ
Yuan
Tie Sheng
TS
Cao
Yu
Y
Wang
Hua Guang
HG
Yang
Sheng
S
Chen
D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D015203:Reproducibility of Results