Absent atherosclerotic risk factors are associated with carotid stiffening quantified with ultrafast ultrasound imaging

• Published in: European radiology Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 3195 - 3206
• Main Authors: Zhu, Zheng-Qiu, Chen, Ling-Shan, Jiang, Xue-Zhong, Wu, Yi-Yun, Zou, Chong, Luan, Yun, Gao, Hui, Dai, Ping, Ma, Xue-Hui, Wu, Lin-Lin, Sun, Hui-Juan, Wang, Yin-Ping, Zou, Fei, Liu, Fu-Ming, Huang, Hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Arteriosclerosis; Atherogenesis; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Blood pressure; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Cardiovascular diseases; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Cholesterol; Confidence intervals; Density; Diagnostic Radiology; Evaluation; Health risks; Humans; Imaging; Infant; Internal Medicine; Interventional Radiology; Male; Males; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neuroradiology; Physical examinations; Population; Pulse Wave Analysis; Radiology; Regression analysis; Regression models; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Sex; Smoking; Statistical analysis; Stiffening; Stiffness; Subgroups; Ultrasonography; Ultrasound; Wave velocity; Pulse wave velocity; Arterial stiffness; Risk factors; Carotid arteries; Atherosclerosis
• ISSN: 0938-7994; 1432-1084; 1432-1084
• DOI: 10.1007/s00330-020-07405-4

Objectives To evaluate carotid stiffening in participants without conventional cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) by using ultrafast pulse wave velocity (ufPWV). Methods The present study enrolled 517 participants without conventional CVRFs (CVRF-Free total population). Subjects in this population were defined as current non-smokers with untreated blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg, fasting blood glucose (FBG) < 7.0 mmol/L, total cholesterol (TC) < 6.2 mmol/L, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol < 4.1 mmol/L, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥ 1.0 mmol/L. Participants in the subgroup with optimal CVRFs (CVRF-Optimal subgroup; n  = 188) were defined as having blood pressure < 120/80 mmHg, TC < 5.2 mmol/L, and FBG < 5.6 mmol/L. Clinical interviews, physical examinations, serum draw, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), and ufPWV were evaluated. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals and ordinal logistic regression models were used. Results Carotid stiffening was present in 46.2–54.5% of CVRF-Free subjects. Age, male sex, and body mass index (BMI) were independently associated with carotid stiffening in both the CVRF-Free total population and CVRF-Optimal subgroup (OR for age = 1.10–1.11, OR for male sex = 2.65–7.19, OR for BMI = 1.34–1.62; p  < 0.05). Carotid stiffening was associated with TC only in the CVRF-Free total population (OR for TC = 1.84; p  = 0.034). Conclusions Many CVRF-Free individuals have carotid stiffening. ufPWV for atherosclerotic stiffening aids the assessment of early atherogenesis and may further clarify the true status of healthy adults without CVRFs. Key Points • CVRF-Optimal individuals have a lower carotid stiffness than CVRF-Free populations . • ufPWV is a quantitative predictor for the early assessment of AS . • Absent major CVRFs cannot be considered low risk for carotid stiffening and atherosclerosis .