engleski

BETA STIFFNESS INDEX BY THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND

Beta stiffness index is the most common marker for assessment of subclinical atherosclerosis. The aim of this investigation was to explore the new technique of three-dimensional ultrasound for carotid stiffness evaluation. This “ pilot” investigation was conducted on 10 healthy volunteers. Measurements were performed on Aloka 5500-SSD Prosound ultrasound platform in B and M modes on common carotid artery (CCA). Data were collected freehandedly over 10 seconds and postprocessing analysis was performed using TomTec Imaging software. Beta indexes were mathematically computed and for statistical evaluation we used nonparametric statistics for two related samples. There were 9 women and 1 man, aged 39, 3+/-9, 2 yrs. There was 1 borderline hypertensive subject and 4 subjects were active smokers. Average body-mass index was 23, 85+/-5, 83 kg/m2. Average intima-media thickness on CCA bilaterally was 0, 42+/-0, 06 mm. Statistically, comparison between conventional and three-dimensional ultrasound corroborated consistency in the left CCA (p>0, 05). This investigation proved that three-dimensional ultrasound could be used as a complementary method for evaluation of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis, with greater sensitivity in the left CCA.

carotid artery; three-dimensional ultrasound; subclinical atherosclerosis; beta stiffness index

nije evidentirano