Aortic stiffness evaluated by echocardiography in female patients with Takayasu's arteritis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the aortic stiffness (AS) in young female patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) and comparable controls by measuring carotid-femoral PWV (PWVcf) using echocardiography with pulse wave Doppler. The clinical feasibility and reproducibility of this echocardiographic method were also investigated.

Twenty-five TAK female patients (mean age 28.3±6.2 years) and 25 strictly matched healthy controls were included according to rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria. The PWVcf of all subjects were measured by echocardiography based on the principle that PWVcf could be calculated by pulse wave spreading distance divided by the transmit time. Reproducibility of the echocardiographic measured PWVcf were performed randomly in 15 TAK patients and 15 healthy controls.

The patients with TAK had a higher PWVcf value measured by echocardiography, compared with healthy controls (8.37±2.23 vs. 6.46±1.15 m/s; p<0.001). The echocardiographic measured PWVcf was significantly dependent on the TAK (p=0.003), age (p=0.032) and pulse pressure (p=0.025). PWVcf did not correlate with the echocardiographic measured cardiac systolic and diastolic parameters and the laboratory variables in TAK patients (p>0.05 for all). The intra- and inter-observer coefficients of variation were low and the Bland-Altman plots indicated a satisfactory reproducibility.

Our results indicated that AS in female patients with TAK is increased, which may predict a higher cardiovascular risk. This manifestation is prior to the impairment of cardiac diastolic function. This elevated AS can be detected by echocardiographic measured PWVcf with a good reproducibility.