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Updated: Jul 24, 2025

Author Spotlight: Using Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Comprehensive Evaluation of the Abdominal Aorta
07:12

Author Spotlight: Using Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Comprehensive Evaluation of the Abdominal Aorta

Published on: September 8, 2023

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Normalization of ascending aorta dimension for body size influences pathophysiologic correlation in hypertensive

Costantino Mancusi1, Maria Virginia Manzi1, Maria Lembo1

  • 1Hypertension Research Center, Department of Advanced Biomedical Science, Federico II University, Via S. Pansini 5, Naples 80131, Italy.

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology
|July 6, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Ascending aorta (AscAo) measurements in hypertensive patients vary by method. AscAo and AscAo normalized for height (AscAo/HT) show physiological consistency and predict cardiovascular risk, unlike AscAo normalized for body surface area (AscAo/BSA).

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Hypertension Research

Background:

  • Systemic hypertension can lead to aortic remodeling.
  • Accurate measurement of the ascending aorta (AscAo) is crucial for assessing cardiovascular risk.
  • Different normalization methods (e.g., height, body surface area) may influence AscAo measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the correlates and consistency of ascending aorta (AscAo) measurements in treated hypertensive patients.
  • To compare the physiological consistency of AscAo, AscAo normalized for height (AscAo/HT), and AscAo normalized for body surface area (AscAo/BSA).
  • To evaluate the association of these aortic measures with cardiovascular outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Included 1634 adult patients with treated hypertension and available AscAo ultrasound.
  • Measured AscAo at end-diastole using the leading edge to leading edge method.
  • Explored correlations with demographics and metabolic profile; used multivariable regression and sensitivity analysis with cardiovascular outcomes.

Main Results:

  • AscAo, AscAo/HT, and AscAo/BSA showed similar correlations with age, eGFR, BP, and HR.
  • Obesity and diabetes were associated with greater AscAo and AscAo/HT but smaller AscAo/BSA.
  • Dilated AscAo and AscAo/HT, but not AscAo/BSA, were significantly associated with increased cardiovascular event risk.

Conclusions:

  • Aortic remodeling magnitude in hypertensive patients depends on the measurement method used.
  • AscAo and AscAo/HT measurements demonstrate physiological consistency.
  • AscAo/BSA is less physiologically consistent and does not reliably predict cardiovascular risk in this cohort.
Abstract

Keywords:
Aortic remodellingCardiac structureCardiovascular riskObesity

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