Department of Cardiovascular Ultrasound & Noninvasive Cardiology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, China.
Department of Cardiovascular Ultrasound, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2021 Jun;34(6):629-641. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2021.01.003. Epub 2021 Jan 7.
Ultrafast ultrasound imaging has been demonstrated to be an effective method to evaluate carotid stiffness through carotid pulse-wave velocity (PWV) with high reproducibility, but a lack of reference values has precluded its widespread use in clinical practice. The aims of this study were to establish reference values of PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging in a prospective, multicenter, population-based cohort study and to investigate the main determinants of carotid PWV.
A total of 1,544 healthy Han Chinese volunteers (581 men [38%]; age range, 18-95 years) were enrolled from 32 collaborating laboratories in China. The participants were categorized by age, blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI). Basic clinical parameters and carotid PWV at the beginning of systole (BS) and at end-systole (ES) were measured using ultrafast ultrasound imaging techniques.
PWV at both BS and ES was significantly higher in the left carotid artery than in the right carotid artery. PWV at BS was significantly higher in men than in women; however, no significant difference was noted in PWV at ES between men and women. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that age, BP, and BMI were independently correlated with PWV at both BS and ES. PWV at BS and ES progressively increased with increases in age, BP, and BMI. Furthermore, age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging were established.
Reference values of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging, stratified by sex and age, were determined for the first time. Age, BP, and BMI were the dominant determinants of carotid PWV for ultrafast ultrasound imaging, which should be considered in clinical practice for assessing arterial stiffness.
超快超声成像已被证明是一种通过颈动脉脉搏波速度（PWV）评估颈动脉僵硬度的有效方法，其重复性较高，但由于缺乏参考值，限制了其在临床实践中的广泛应用。本研究旨在通过前瞻性、多中心、基于人群的队列研究，建立超快超声成像的 PWV 参考值，并探讨颈动脉 PWV 的主要决定因素。
共纳入来自中国 32 家合作实验室的 1544 名健康汉族志愿者（581 名男性[38%]；年龄 18-95 岁）。根据年龄、血压（BP）和体重指数（BMI）对参与者进行分类。使用超快超声成像技术测量收缩期初（BS）和收缩期末（ES）的基本临床参数和颈动脉 PWV。
BS 和 ES 时，左颈动脉 PWV 明显高于右颈动脉 PWV。BS 时男性 PWV 明显高于女性；然而，ES 时男女之间的 PWV 没有显著差异。多元线性回归分析显示，年龄、BP 和 BMI 与 BS 和 ES 时的 PWV 独立相关。BS 和 ES 时的 PWV 随年龄、BP 和 BMI 的增加而逐渐增加。此外，还建立了超快超声成像的颈动脉 PWV 的年龄和性别特异性参考值。
首次确定了超快超声成像的颈动脉 PWV 参考值，按性别和年龄分层。年龄、BP 和 BMI 是超快超声成像颈动脉 PWV 的主要决定因素，在评估动脉僵硬度时应在临床实践中加以考虑。
