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Normal developmental changes in carotid artery diameter measured by echo-tracking
1Department of Pediatrics, Oita Medical University, School of Medicine, Japan.
Insights
Carotid artery diameter grows exponentially with age in children. This noninvasive ultrasound method tracks these changes, aiding in the assessment of cerebrovascular health in pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Vascular Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- The carotid arteries are crucial for cerebral blood flow.
- Understanding normal arterial development is essential for diagnosing vascular disorders.
- Noninvasive methods are preferred for pediatric assessments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate developmental changes in carotid arterial diameter in children.
- To assess how carotid diameter changes with pulsatile pressure.
- To evaluate the utility of phase-locked echo-tracking for these measurements.
Main Methods:
- Utilized phase-locked echo-tracking to measure carotid arterial diameter.
- Included 95 healthy children aged 1 month to 13 years.
- Measured mean, maximum systolic, minimum diastolic, and pulsating diameter changes.
Main Results:
- Carotid arterial diameter increased exponentially with age, weight, height, and body surface area.
- Correlation was strongest between carotid diameter and body surface area.
- Pulsatile diameter changes increased gradually until 2-3 years of age.
Conclusions:
- Maturational changes in carotid diameter reflect development of the carotid-cerebral circulatory system.
- Phase-locked echo-tracking is a valuable noninvasive tool for assessing carotid-cerebral circulatory disorders in children.
Abstract:
We examined the developmental changes in carotid arterial diameter and its change with pulsatile pressure in infants and children using the phase-locked echo-tracking method. The mean, maximum systolic, and minimum diastolic carotid arterial diameter and pulsating diameter changes were measured in 95 healthy children aged 1 month to 13 years. The mean, maximum, and minimum carotid arterial diameter increase significantly and exponentially with age, body weight, height, and body surface area, and the correlation coefficient was highest with body surface area. The change in carotid arterial diameter with pulse pressure increased gradually until 2 to 3 years of age. Our results suggest that the maturational changes in carotid diameter and the dynamic changes in the diameter reflect changes in the carotid-cerebral circulatory system. The noninvasive measurement of the carotid diameter and pulsating diameter changes by a phase-locked echo-tracking method is useful for examining carotid-cerebral circulatory disorders.