NONINVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF VESSEL-WALL CHANGES IN HYPERTENSIVES AND NORMOTENSIVE CONTROLS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of non-invasive assessment of vessel wall changes in early, untreated hypertension. Measurement of intimal + medial (I-M) thickness in the common carotid artery (CCA) using B-mode ultrasound imaging showed no differences between 12 patients with untreated, newly diagnosed hypertension and 9 age-matched controls (0.63 mm vs 0.63 mm just proximal to the carotid bulb). Echocardiography showed that the hypertensive group had thicker left ventricular walls (LVW) than the normotensive group. Correlation analyses disclosed that I-M thickness was significantly associated with age (r = 0.63; P < 0.05) for the whole material but not with blood pressure levels, serum lipids, or LVW thickness. These results imply that the arterial I-M layers of the CCA are less responsive to pressure overload than the left ventricle. The feasibility of using I-M thickness as an early marker of structural vessel wall changes in hypertensive patients must await results from large scale prospective studies. In view of the present results, age homogenous materials should be selected for such studies.