BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Arterial stiffness may indicate early vascular changes that predispose to the development of major vascular disease. The repeatability of a variety of indices of arterial stiffness calculated from a standard carotid arterial M-mode ultrasound image was investigated. METHODS Twenty-six asymptomatic normal subjects were imaged and had blood pressure recordings on each of ...

In an elegant study, Hayoz and colleagues 1 have demonstrated two features of a conduit artery in the vasculature of essential hypertensive patients. First, that the diameter of the radial artery of essential hypertensive patients is similar to or greater than that of well-matched, normotensive control subjects. Second, if compared under conditions of similar transmural pressure, the compliance...

In healthy individuals, deep inspirations (DIs) have a potent bronchodilatory ability against methacholine (MCh)-induced bronchoconstriction. This is variably attenuated in asthma. We hypothesized that inability to bronchodilate with DIs is related to reduced airway distensibility. We examined the relationship between DI-induced bronchodilation and airway distensibility in 15 asthmatic individu...

The ratio of two wave components (magnitude of b/a constituting the second derivative of the plethysmogram (SDPTG) was correlated with arterial distensibility. Eighty-two subjects (33-93 years old) were classified into three groups according to the thickness of the intima-media complex of the common carotid artery measured by B-mode ultrasonography. One group was non-atherosclerotic (without pa...

BACKGROUND Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a soluble member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is linked to cardiovascular disease. Negative associations exist between circulating OPG and cardiac function. The adipocytokine adiponectin (ADPN) is downregulated in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease and shows an inverse correlation with insulin sensitivity and cardi...

BACKGROUND To study segmental structural and functional aortic properties in Turner syndrome (TS) patients. Aortic abnormalities contribute to increased morbidity and mortality of women with Turner syndrome. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) allows segmental study of aortic elastic properties. METHOD We performed Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) and distensibility measurements using CMR of the...

TAYLOR, ROGER R., JAMES W. COVELL, EDMUND H. SONNENBLICK, AND JOHN Ross, JR. Dependence of ventricular distensibility on jilling of the opposite ventricle. Am. J. Physiol. 2 13 (3) : 7 1 l-7 18. 1967.-The influence of filling one ventricle on distensibility of the opposite ventricle was examined in dogs. Distensibility of the left or right ventricle was consistently decreased in proportion to t...

Aging decreases the distensibility of large elastic arteries; however, the effects of age on the functional parameters of muscular, medium-sized arteries are not well determined. This study evaluated the consequences of aging on the functional parameters of the carotid and radial arteries in normotensive men. A total of 62 elderly subjects (aged 74+/-2 years) were compared with 87 young subject...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Few studies have examined the early effects of statins on carotid artery elasticity, a potential surrogate marker of cardiovascular risk. This study examined the short-term effects of atorvastatin 80 mg daily on carotid elasticity measured by high-resolution B-mode ultrasound. METHODS The study included 40 stroke-free and statin-naive subjects older than age 45 (mean ag...