Size of the Carotid Body in Patients with Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases Measured by Computed Tomography
Sándor Csizmadia1, Gergely H Fodor2, András Palkó3
1Affidea Hungary Ltd. Budapest, 44-46 Bókay János Street, Budapest H-1083, Hungary.
Insights
Carotid bodies (CBs) enlarge in patients with hypertension and related cardiovascular conditions like heart failure and myocardial infarction. However, COPD did not show a significant association with increased CB size.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Carotid bodies (CBs) regulate sympathetic nervous system activity.
- Enlarged CBs are hypothesized in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
- Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is used to assess CB size.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between CB size and hypertension.
- To determine if cardiovascular and respiratory diseases affect CB size.
- To utilize CTA for quantitative CB assessment.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 141 CTAs.
- Inclusion of controls and patients with hypertension (HT), HT with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), HT with heart failure (HF), and HT with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Statistical analysis using analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Main Results:
- CBs were significantly enlarged in patients with HT compared to controls.
- CB enlargement was more pronounced in patients with HT and associated AMI or HF.
- CB size was not significantly affected by COPD in hypertensive patients.
Conclusions:
- Increased sympathetic nervous system activity in certain diseases correlates with enlarged CBs.
- Hypertension, heart failure, and myocardial infarction are associated with significant CB enlargement.
- CB size may serve as a potential biomarker for sympathetic overactivity in specific conditions.
Objectives:
Carotid bodies (CBs) play an important role in regulating sympathetic nervous system activity. Thus, they are likely to be enlarged in patients with certain cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The aim of this case-control study was to verify this hypothesis using computed tomography angiography (CTA).
Methods:
We retrospectively analysed 141 CTAs including 16 controls, 96 patients with only hypertension (HT), 12 with HT and previous acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 9 with HT and heart failure (HF), and 8 with HT and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We assessed the data using analysis of variance, with p < 0.05 indicating significance.
Results:
CB average areas in the controls were 2.31 mm2 (right side (RS)) vs. 2.34 mm2 (left side (LS)). CB size was significantly enlarged in patients with HT: 3.07 mm2 (RS) (p=0.019) vs. 2.91 mm2 (LS) (p=0.002). If AMI (RS: 3.5 mm2; LS: 3.44 mm2) or HF (RS: 4.01 mm2; LS: 4.55 mm2) was associated with HT, the CB size was even more enlarged. COPD did not affect CB size (RS: 2.40 mm2; LS: 2.29 mm2).
Conclusions:
Our data showed that certain diseases with increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system were associated with significantly enlarged CBs.
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