Menopausal status and distensibility of the common carotid artery

Although several studies have shown that exogenous estrogens have beneficia l effects on arterial characteristics, the effect of endogenous estrogen on the Vascular system is still unknown. In this study, distensibility, an in dicator of arterial elasticity, of the common carotid artery was compared i n pre- and postmenopausal women. The study comprised 93 premenopausal and 9 3 postmenopausal women of similar age (range, 43 to 55 years). Women were s elected from respondents to a mailed questionnaire about the menopause, whi ch was sent to all women aged 40 to 60 years in the Dutch town of Zoetermee r (n = 12 675). Postmenopausal women who were at least 3 years past natural menopause or whose menses had stopped naturally before age 48, were age-ma tched with premenopausal women with regular menses and without menopausal c omplaints. The selection aimed at maximizing the contrast in estrogen statu s between pre- and postmenopausal women of the same age. Distensibility of the carotid artery was measured noninvasively with B-mode ultrasound and a vessel wall movement detector system. Arterial distensibility is expressed as the change in arterial diameter (distension, Delta D) with the cardiac c ycle, adjusted for lumen diameter, pulse pressure, and mean arterial blood pressure. Compared with premenopausal women, postmenopausal women had signi ficantly lower arterial distension (Delta D 370.5 mu m [SE 9.5] versus 397. 3 mu m [SE 9.6]). These results suggest that the distensibility of the comm on carotid artery is negatively affected by natural menopause in presumed h ealthy women.