Non-invasive assessment of large arteries compliance

The compliance of large arteries (for instance the carotid and femoral artery) can be non-invasively assessed with a vessel wall moving detector system, based upon phase tracking of the radio frequency signals generated by the arterial wall. A good compliance enables large arteries to manage the systolic flow jet from the heart more adequately, and has been suggested to protect these vessels from atherosclerosis. Arterial compliance has been found to be diminished in hypertensive subjects, even at an early stage of the disease. Antihypertensive treatment might restore compliance, depending on the drugs used. More recently, local stiffening of vessels and inhomogeneities in local distensibility have been observed in the carotid artery bifurcation of borderline hypertensives, and the time-dependent variation in local distensibility and compliance has been studied.