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Thicknesses of individual layers of artery wall indicate increased cardiovascular risk in severe pre‐eclampsia
Author(s) -
Akhter T.,
Larsson M.,
Wikström A. K.,
Naessen T.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1002/uog.13289
Subject(s) - medicine , eclampsia , intima media thickness , common carotid artery , cardiology , receiver operating characteristic , blood pressure , body mass index , pregnancy , ultrasound , pulse pressure , carotid arteries , area under the curve , obstetrics , radiology , genetics , biology
ABSTRACT Objective To assess whether thicknesses of the intima and media in the common carotid artery (CCA) and the intima/media ratio (I/M) indicate an increased cardiovascular risk in non‐pregnant women with a history of previous severe pre‐eclampsia . Methods Thicknesses of the CCA intima and media layers were measured using non‐invasive high‐frequency (22 MHz ) ultrasound in 42 women with a history of severe pre‐eclampsia and 44 women with previous normal pregnancy . Results Women with a history of severe pre‐eclampsia had a thicker CCA intima and a higher I/M than had women with previous normal pregnancy, also after adjustment for mean arterial pressure, body mass index and CCA intima–media thickness ( IMT ) (all P < 0.0001). CCA‐IMT did not differ significantly between groups. In receiver–operating characteristics curve analysis, intima thickness and I/M clearly discriminated between women with and those without previous pre‐eclampsia (area under the receiver–operating characteristics curve (AUC), 0.98 and 0.93), whereas CCA‐IMT did not (AUC, 0.52) . Conclusions CCA individual intima and media thicknesses as well as I/M, but not CCA‐IMT, reflect the known increased long-term cardiovascular risk of pre‐eclampsia. Estimation of individual CCA layers using high‐frequency ultrasound appears preferable to measuring CCA‐IMT for investigating arterial effects and the increased cardiovascular risk in women with a history of severe pre‐eclampsia. Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd .