RESEARCH ARTICLE
Evaluation of Aortic Stiffness (Aortic Pulse–Wave Velocity) Before and After Elective Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair Procedures: A Pilot Study#
Kosmas I Paraskevas1, *, Nikolaos Bessias1, Chrysovalantis Psathas2, Konstantinos Akridas2, Theodoros Dragios2, Georgios Nikitas2, Vassilios Andrikopoulos1, Dimitri P Mikhailidis3, Zenon S Kyriakides2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2009Volume: 3
First Page: 173
Last Page: 175
Publisher ID: TOCMJ-3-173
DOI: 10.2174/1874192400903010173
Article History:
Received Date: 29/10/2009Revision Received Date: 2/11/2009
Acceptance Date: 3/11/2009
Electronic publication date: 9/12/2009
Collection year: 2009
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background:
The main clinical criterion for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair operations is an AAA diameter ≥5.5 cm. When AAAs increase in size, specific changes occur in the mechanical properties of the aortic wall. Pulse-wave velocity (PWV) has been used as an indicator of vascular stiffness. A low PWV may predict AAA rupture risk and is an early predictor of cardiovascular mortality.
Methods:
We investigated the prognostic value of PWV before and after elective AAA repair procedures. Twenty four patients scheduled for an open AAA repair underwent a preoperative carotid-femoral aortic PWV measurement. A second aortic PWV measurement was carried out 6 months postoperatively.
Results:
The mean aortic PWV increased from 7.84 ± 1.85 preoperatively to 10.08 ± 1.57 m/sec 6 months postoperatively (mean change: 2.25; 95% confidence interval 1.4 to 3.1 m/sec; p<0.0001). The preprocedural PWV measurement did not correlate with AAA diameter (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient ρ=0.12; p=0.59).
Conclusions:
Whether the increase in aortic PWV postoperatively suggests a decreased cardiovascular risk following AAA repair remains to be established. Aortic PWV should also be investigated as an adjunct tool for assessing AAA rupture risk.
