COMMON CAROTID-ARTERY WALL PROPERTIES IN TAKAYASUS-ARTERITIS

The vessel wall properties of the common carotid artery have been noni nvasively and quantitatively assessed with an ultrasonic instrument. S tiffness parameter beta, which represents the mechanical properties of the vessel, was calculated from the relationship between blood pressu re and the diameter of the artery. There are no reports that quantitat ively assess wall properties in Takayasu's arteritis. The authors comp ared, in vivo, the vessel wall properties of the common carotid artery in 14 patients with Takayasu's arteritis versus those in 60 normal su bjects (controls). They measured changes in the inner diameter of the artery between systole and diastole with an ultrasonic, phase-locked, echo-tracking system. beta was significantly higher in Takayasu's arte ritis than in normal subjects (better than a 99% confidence interval). The findings for each decade were as follows: 3rd decade (20s): 35.7 +/- 28.9 vs 5.01-6.46, P=0.0001; 4th decade (30s): 19.5 +/- 9.71 vs 6. 09-7.80, P=0.02; 5th decade (40s): 26.2 +/- 11.3 vs 7.26-9.28, P=0.000 1; 6th decade (50s): 19.1 +/- 4.27 vs 8.66-11.25, P=0.0001. Takayasu's arteritis significantly impaired the mechanical performance of the co mmon carotid artery. Thus, beta shows promise as a useful diagnostic i ndicator of Takayasu's arteritis.