Aortic distensibility and aortic intima-media thickness in patients without clinical manifestation of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

[An exploration of potential approaches to improve the diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with high cardiovascular risk]

PURPOSE

The search for optimal approaches to the diagnosis of subclinical atherosclerosis using a wide range of traditional and psychosocial risk factors (RFs), as well as clinical and instrumental diagnostic methods in patients (pts) with high or very high cardiovascular (CV) risk.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study enrolled52 pts, aged 40 to 65 years with high or very high CV risk (5-9 and ≥10% by the Systematic Coronary Risk Estimation Scale [SCORE], respectively). All participants underwent cardiac computed tomography (CT)angiography and calcium scoring. Traditional RFs (family history of premature CVD, smoking, overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, lipids parameters (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides) and lipids-related markers (apolipoprotein A1, apolipoprotein B, ApoB/ApoA1 ratio), biomarkers of inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs CRP], fibrinogen), indicator carbohydrate metabolism (glucose), ankle-brachial index, stress-test, carotid plaques according to ultrasound, arterial stiffness were evaluated in all pts. Psychological RFs were evaluated using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and DS-14 for type D personality.

RESULTS

All pts were divided into 2 groups according to the CT angiography results: pts in the main group (n=21) had any non-obstructive lesions or calcium score >0, pts in the control group (n=31) had intact coronary arteries. The groups did not differ in age or gender. It was found that patients with subclinical atherosclerosis significantly more often have a very high (≥10%) CV risk (42.9% vs.16.3%, p<0.05), a long (≥5 years) history of arterial hypertension (47.6% vs. 12.9% , p<0.01) and longer duration of antihypertensive therapy (61.9% vs. 29.0%, p<0.05), higher heart rate in rest (87. ± 14 vs. 77 ± 10 beats/min, p<0.01), increased arterial stiffness according to aortic pulse wave velocity (85.7% vs. 61.3%, p<0.05) and high level of hs-CRP (100% vs. 90.3%, p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Using in routine clinical practice of additional anamnestic (hypertension lasting ≥ 5 years and the intake of any antihypertensive drugs) and clinical-instrumental parameters (high heart rate in rest, hs CRP and arterial stiffness in pts with high and very high CV risk increases effectiveness of early detection of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability is a marker of cardiac diastolic function and carotid atherosclerosis

Background

The associations between visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP) variability and cardiac function and carotid atherosclerosis is not clear.

Methods

Study subjects were 144 subjects (80 were female, aged 73 ± 9 years) who underwent echocardiography and cervical ultrasonography. The ratio of early ventricular filling velocity to early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/e’), ejection fraction, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and maximum intima-media thickness (max-IMT) of the carotid artery were compared between the highest (high variability) and lowest (low variability) tertiles of the standard deviation of systolic BP (9.9 ± 3.5 mmHg).

Results

E/e’ and max-IMT were significantly greater in the high variability group than in the low variability group after adjusting for age, sex, baseline systolic BP, and other covariates (high variability vs. low variability; E/e’: 13.03 ± 5.33 vs. 10.66 ± 3.30, multivariate-adjusted difference (β) = 1.82, 95% confidence interval 0.06–3.58; max-IMT: 1.65 ± 0.43 mm vs. 1.42 ± 0.46 mm, β = 0.20 mm, 95% confidence interval 0.03–0.36 mm). There were no significant differences in LVMI or ejection fraction.

Conclusion

These results indicate that high visit-to-visit BP variability is associated with diastolic function and carotid atherosclerosis, and is a possible risk factor for diastolic dysfunction and atherosclerosis.

Gamma Glutamyl Transferase Activity is Associated With Both Paraoxonase Activity and Aortic Stiffness in Hypertensive Patients

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate relationship between gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity with paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity and aortic stiffness (AS) parameters such as pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx).

METHODS

Measurements were obtained from 324 patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension (mean age: 55.0 ± 8.2 years). The patients were divided into two groups according to their median GGT values. PWV and AIx were calculated using the single-point method via the Mobil-O-Graph® ARCsolver algorithm.

RESULTS

PWV, Aix, and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) values were higher and PON1 activity values were lower in GGThigh group compared with GGTlow group (P < 0.05, for all). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that GGT activity was independently associated with PWV (β = 0.496, P < 0.001) and PON1 activity (β = -0.343, P < 0.001) as well as hs-CRP (β = 0.334, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

These results may support that increased GGT activity would be associated with both impaired antioxidant system and increased AS in hypertensive patients.