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The relationship between heart-carotid pulse transit time and carotid intima-media thickness in hypertensive patients

C Li1,2, H Xiong3, W Wu1,2

  • 1Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.

Journal of Human Hypertension
|March 13, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Heart-carotid pulse transit time (rcPTT) and aortic valve-carotid artery pulse transit time (acPTT) correlate with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in hypertensive patients. These transit times may serve as valuable markers for evaluating atherosclerosis.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Medical Diagnostics
  • Biomedical Engineering

Background:

  • Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
  • Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis.
  • Pulse transit times offer non-invasive insights into vascular health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between heart-carotid pulse transit time (rcPTT) and CIMT in hypertensive patients.
  • To determine if including the pre-ejection period (PEP) in pulse transit time measurements (yielding acPTT) influences this correlation.
  • To assess the independence of these relationships from common clinical confounders.

Main Methods:

  • Noninvasive ultrasound was used to measure CIMT.
  • Electrocardiogram R-wave-based heart-carotid pulse transit time (rcPTT) and PEP were recorded.
  • Aortic valve-carotid artery pulse transit time (acPTT) was calculated by subtracting PEP from rcPTT.
  • Patients were categorized into normal and thickened CIMT groups.

Main Results:

  • Both rcPTT and acPTT showed significant negative correlations with CIMT in both normal and thickened CIMT groups.
  • These correlations were eliminated in the normal CIMT group after adjusting for confounders (age, gender, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol).
  • However, rcPTT and acPTT maintained significant correlations with CIMT in the thickened CIMT group, independent of these confounders.

Conclusions:

  • rcPTT and acPTT are associated with CIMT in hypertensive patients with thickened CIMT, independent of clinical confounders.
  • These pulse transit time measurements may serve as useful non-invasive markers for atherosclerosis evaluation in this population.

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