Schreuder Floris H B M, Mess Werner H, Hoeks Arnold P G
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Cerebrovasc Dis. 2009;27(1):75-83. doi: 10.1159/000172637. Epub 2008 Nov 15.
Duplex ultrasonography is frequently used to select patients who are eligible for carotid endarterectomy by using local blood flow velocities to quantify the degree of internal carotid artery stenosis. However, ageing affects flow velocities and might hence influence the accuracy of duplex ultrasonography, as explored in the present study.
We determined peak-systolic (PSV) and end-diastolic (EDV) blood flow velocities in the common carotid artery (CCA) and internal carotid artery (ICA) in the absence of atherosclerosis and correlated these with age. The established correlation was applied to measurements in the ICA with visualised atherosclerosis to evaluate whether an age-related change in blood flow velocities modified stenosis grading.
In 465 arteries without atherosclerosis, PSV declined linearly in both the CCA (r = -0.55) and ICA (r = -0.44). The EDV decreased linearly in the CCA and ICA (r = -0.61 and r = -0.56, respectively). In 774 internal carotid arteries with atherosclerosis present, the use of an age-dependent reference increased the estimated degree of stenosis in 3 young subjects. The stenosis grade was reduced in 11 older subjects, mainly in symptomatic arteries.
Blood flow velocities in the carotid artery system decrease continuously with increasing age. This may affect the estimated degree of internal carotid artery stenosis in the elderly.
双功超声检查常用于通过测量局部血流速度来量化颈内动脉狭窄程度，从而筛选适合颈动脉内膜切除术的患者。然而，本研究探讨了衰老对血流速度的影响，进而可能影响双功超声检查的准确性。
我们在无动脉粥样硬化的情况下测定了颈总动脉（CCA）和颈内动脉（ICA）的收缩期峰值（PSV）和舒张末期（EDV）血流速度，并将这些数据与年龄进行关联。将建立的相关性应用于有动脉粥样硬化可视化的ICA测量中，以评估血流速度的年龄相关变化是否会改变狭窄分级。
在465条无动脉粥样硬化的动脉中，CCA和ICA的PSV均呈线性下降（r分别为-0.55和-0.44）。CCA和ICA的EDV也呈线性下降（r分别为-0.61和-0.56）。在774条存在动脉粥样硬化的颈内动脉中，使用年龄依赖性参考值使3名年轻受试者的狭窄估计程度增加。11名老年受试者的狭窄分级降低，主要是在有症状的动脉中。
随着年龄的增长，颈动脉系统的血流速度持续下降。这可能会影响老年人颈内动脉狭窄的估计程度。
