Feasibility and relevance of compound strain imaging in non-stenotic arteries: comparison between individuals with cardiovascular diseases and healthy controls

• Main Authors: Martijn F.H. Maessen, Thijs M.H. Eijsvogels, Ayla Grotens, Maria T.E. Hopman, Dick H.J. Thijssen, Hendrik H.G. Hansen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2017-05-01
• Series: Cardiovascular Ultrasound
• Subjects: Strain imaging; Myocardial infarction; Ultrasound imaging; Cardiovascular assessment; Intima media thickness
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12947-017-0104-9

Abstract Background Compound strain imaging is a novel method to noninvasively evaluate arterial wall deformation which has recently shown to enable differentiation between fibrous and (fibro-)atheromatous plaques in patients with severe stenosis. We tested the hypothesis that compound strain imaging is feasible in non-stenotic arteries and provides incremental discriminative power to traditional measures of vascular health (i.e., distensibility coefficient (DC), central pulse wave velocity [cPWV], and intima-media thickness [IMT]) for differentiating between participants with and without a history of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Methods Seventy two participants (60 ± 7 years) with non-stenotic arteries (IMT < 1.1 mm) were categorized in healthy participants (CON, n = 36) and CVD patients (n = 36) based on CVD history. Participants underwent standardised ultrasound-based assessment (DC, cPWV, and IMT) and compound strain imaging (radial [RS] and circumferential [CS] strain) in left common carotid artery. Area under receiver operating characteristics (AROC)-curve was used to determine the discriminatory power between CVD and CON of the various measures. Results CON had a significantly (P < 0.05) smaller carotid IMT (0.68 [0.58 to 0.76] mm) than CVD patients (0.76 [0.68 to 0.80] mm). DC, cPWV, RS, and CS did not significantly differ between groups (P > 0.05). A higher CS or RS was associated with a higher DC (CS: r = −0.32;p < 0.05 and RS: r = 0.24;p < 0.05) and lower cPWV (CS: r = 0.24;p < 0.05 and RS: r = −0.25;p < 0.05). IMT could identify CVD (AROC: 0.66, 95%-CI: 0.53 to 0.79), whilst the other measurements, alone or in combination, did not significantly increase the discriminatory power compared to IMT. Conclusions In non-stenotic arteries, compound strain imaging is feasible, but does not seem to provide incremental discriminative power to traditional measures of vascular health for differentiation between individuals with and without a history of CVD.