Premium
Endothelial Dysfunction in Carotid Elongation
Author(s) -
Baracchini Claudio,
Farina Filippo,
Tonello Simone,
Citton Valentina,
Meneghetti Giorgio,
Ballotta Enzo,
Manara Renzo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of neuroimaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1552-6569
pISSN - 1051-2284
DOI - 10.1111/j.1552-6569.2011.00653.x
Subject(s) - medicine , brachial artery , cardiology , vasodilation , endothelial dysfunction , carotid arteries , hemodynamics , elongation , vasomotion , ultrasound , radiology , blood pressure , metallurgy , ultimate tensile strength , materials science
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Internal carotid artery (ICA) elongation (coiling and kinking) has been suggested as a risk factor for carotid dissection. Since vasomotion is known to be impaired in spontaneous cervical vessel dissection, we investigated whether endothelial‐dependent vasodilation in subjects with carotid coiling and kinking is compromised. METHODS We undertook a case‐control study using high‐resolution ultrasound and measured flow‐mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery in 80 subjects with carotid elongation and in 80 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls (HC). The hemodynamic impact of carotid elongation was taken into consideration subdividing mild/moderate kinking from severe kinking according to a peak systolic blood flow velocity >150 cm/s. RESULTS FMD did not differ among subjects with coiling (14.51 ± 7.86%), mild/moderate kinking (14.38 ± 9.58%) and HC (15.53 ± 8.48%), while subjects with a severe kinking had a significantly lower FMD (8.38 ± 3.26). CONCLUSIONS Among subjects with carotid elongation, those with severe kinking have an impaired endothelial‐dependent vasodilation and might be prone to carotid dissection.