Department of Large Animal Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Equine Cardioteam Ghent University, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Equine Vet J. 2020 Nov;52(6):868-875. doi: 10.1111/evj.13263. Epub 2020 Apr 10.
Arterial rupture mainly affects older horses. The reason why older horses are more prone to arterial rupture and which underlying vascular changes predispose older horses to aortic rupture is still unclear.
To investigate the effect of ageing on the equine arterial wall and blood pressure.
Cohort study.
Non-invasive blood pressure measurement using a tail cuff and vascular ultrasound from aorta, common carotid artery and external iliac artery was performed in 50 healthy young (3-7 years) and 50 healthy old Warmblood horses (>18 years). Arterial diameters and cross-sectional areas, and arterial wall thickness were measured offline. Regional arterial wall stiffness of the aorta and common carotid artery were assessed using pulse wave velocity, while lumen area/diameter change, strain, compliance and distensibility were calculated to assess local arterial wall stiffness.
No difference in blood pressure was found between old and young horses. All arterial dimensions and intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery were significantly larger in old horses. A significantly higher local arterial wall stiffness was found for the aorta and the caudal common carotid artery in older horses. For the external iliac artery, no significant differences in arterial wall stiffness were found. Both aortic and carotid pulse wave velocities were higher in older horses compared with younger horses.
Blood pressure was measured non-invasively.
In horses, arteries stiffen with age, in combination with luminal enlargement and arterial wall thickening. This might, at least partially, explain the increased incidence of arterial rupture in older horses.
动脉破裂主要影响老年马。为什么老年马更容易发生动脉破裂，以及哪些潜在的血管变化使老年马更容易发生主动脉破裂，目前尚不清楚。
研究年龄对马的动脉壁和血压的影响。
队列研究。
使用尾套对 50 匹健康的年轻（3-7 岁）和 50 匹健康的老年温血马（>18 岁）进行非侵入性血压测量，同时对主动脉、颈总动脉和外髂动脉进行血管超声检查。在线下测量动脉直径和横截面积，以及动脉壁厚度。使用脉搏波速度评估主动脉和颈总动脉的局部动脉壁僵硬程度，同时计算管腔面积/直径变化、应变、顺应性和扩张性，以评估局部动脉壁僵硬程度。
老年马和年轻马的血压无差异。老年马的颈总动脉所有动脉尺寸和内膜中层厚度均显著增大。老年马的主动脉和尾侧颈总动脉的局部动脉壁僵硬程度显著更高。对于外髂动脉，未发现动脉壁僵硬程度有显著差异。与年轻马相比，老年马的主动脉和颈动脉脉搏波速度均更高。
血压是通过非侵入性方法测量的。
在马中，动脉随年龄增长而变硬，同时伴有管腔增大和动脉壁增厚。这至少部分解释了老年马动脉破裂发生率增加的原因。
