Mechanical Mapping of the Common Carotid Artery in Healthy Individuals Aged 2 to 40 Years

(1) Background: In 2022, the World Stroke Organization said there were more than 12.2 million new cases of stroke each year, between all ages and sexes. Six and a half million people die each year from stroke. Ischemic stroke accounts for 7.6 million (62%) cases, with 3.3 million (51%) deaths. Stroke is mainly linked to the atherosclerosis of a large artery. (2) Objective: Since the carotid artery directly supplies the brain, we used age-dependent mechanical mapping on the healthy common carotid artery (CCA) with the aim of being able to predict and thus potentially prevent ischemic stroke. (3) Methods: We assessed the CCA stiffness of 95 healthy control (CTL) females (2.23-39.46 years) and 107 healthy CTL males (2.85-40 years). Cine-loops of B-mode CCA data were digitally recorded with conventional medical ultrasound devices. Arterial wall elastic moduli were estimated offline using a proprietary non-invasive imaging-based biomarker algorithm (ImBioMark). Statistical analyzes were carried out with Excel software. (4) Results: Females showed a linear regression profile of CCA elastic moduli ranging from 41 ± 2 kPa to 54 ± 17 kPa (R² = 0.88), while males showed one ranging from 38 ± 5 kPa to 63 ± 22 kPa (R² = 0.83). For qualitative and quantitative illustrations, the elastic modulus data of CTLs were compared with those of subjects with Kawasaki disease and subjects born prematurely, respectively. (5) Conclusions: This study introduced some fundamental features of the mechanical evolution of the CCA as a function of age (2-40 years). Since atherosclerotic arteriopathy starts early in life, this gives the ability to predict risks of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases with the possibility of applying a more comprehensive range of potential preventive measures early in life. This is consistent with preventive medicine objectives which aim to be more predictive to implement pre-emptive measures as opposed to diagnostic and curative approaches.