Echocardiographic evaluation of the elasticity of the ascending aorta in patients with essential hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is the most common chronic disease and the most important risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Atheroma and arteriosclerosis plays a key role in the occurrence and development of hypertension. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the elasticity of ascending aorta wall in patients with essential hypertension (EH) using M-mode echocardiography.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 54 EH patients and 51 healthy subjects (HS). They all underwent transthoracic echocardiography to measure ascending aorta inner diameters and brachial blood pressure measurement to calculate aortic elastic variables: compliance, distensibility, strain, stiffness index, and Peterson's elastic modulus. All participants also underwent bilateral carotid ultrasonographic examination.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index, blood lipids, blood glucose, and ascending aorta inner diameters between the two groups. We found neither intimal thickening nor plaque formation in the left or right carotid arteries in both groups. The aortic elastic properties were significantly impaired in EH patients compared with HS.

CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiography can be used for the noninvasive evaluation of ascending aorta wall elasticity as an early screening technique. Subclinical arteriosclerosis appeared to occur in the ascending aorta of patients with essential hypertension even though carotid ultrasonography was normal.