AB0967 Determinants of Aortic Wall Thickness in Patients without Aortitis: A Computed Tomography-Based Study: Table 1

Background —It has been reported that early surgery should be required for patients with type A aortic intramural hematoma (IMH) because it tends to develop classic aortic dissection or rupture. However, the anatomic features of type A IMH that develops dissection or rupture are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictors of progression or regression of type A IMH by computed tomography (CT). Methods and Results —Twenty-two consecutive patients with type A IMH were studied by serial CT images. Aortic diameter and aortic wall thickness of the ascending aorta were estimated in CT images at 3 levels on admission and at follow-up (mean 37 days). We defined patients who showed increased maximum aortic wall thickness in the follow-up CT (n=9) or died of rupture (n=1) as the progression group (n=10). The other 12 patients, who all showed decreased maximum wall thickness, were categorized as the regression group. In the progression group, the maximum aortic diameter in the initial CT was significantly greater than that in the regression group (55±6 vs 47±3 mm, P =0.001). A Cox regression analysis revealed that the maximum aortic diameter was the strongest predictor for progression of type A IMH. We considered the optimal cutoff value to be 50 mm for the maximum aortic diameter to predict progression (positive predictive value 83%, negative predictive value 100%). Conclusions —Maximum aortic diameter estimated by the initial CT images is predictive for progression of type A IMH.

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Maternal undernutrition reduces aortic wall thickness and elastin content in offspring rats without altering endothelial function

Clinical Science ◽

10.1042/cs20060036 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 111 (4) ◽

pp. 281-287 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Michael R. Skilton ◽

Alison K. Gosby ◽

Ben J. Wu ◽

Lisa M. L. Ho ◽

Roland Stocker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wall Thickness ◽

Aortic Wall ◽

Infant Nutrition ◽

Protein Diet ◽

Low Protein Diet ◽

Organ Bath ◽

High Fat ◽

Maternal Undernutrition ◽

Low Protein ◽

Aortic Wall Thickness

Epidemiological studies suggest a link between fetal/early infant nutrition and adult coronary artery disease. In the present study, we examined the effects of altering nutrition during gestation, lactation and juvenile life on aortic structure and function in rats. Wistar rat dams were fed either a control or low-protein diet throughout pregnancy, or a low-protein diet for the final 7 days of gestation only. At 21 days post-partum, male pups were weaned on to a control, low-protein or high-fat diet. At 12 weeks, the offspring rats were killed. In 46 rats, aortic sections were mounted and stained to assess media thickness and elastin content. In a further 38 rats, aortic rings were suspended in an organ bath and vascular reactivity was tested with dose–response curves to the endothelium-dependent dilator acetylcholine and the endothelium-independent dilator sodium nitroprusside. Rats exposed to maternal protein restriction while in utero had a significantly decreased aortic wall thickness compared with control rats (P=0.005). Total elastin content of the aorta was also decreased by both maternal low-protein (P=0.02) and early postnatal low-protein (P=0.01) diets. Neither maternal nor postnatal low-protein or high-fat diets, however, resulted in any significant changes in arterial dilator function. In conclusion, fetal undernutrition in rats, induced via a maternal low-protein diet, causes a decrease in aortic wall thickness and elastin content without altering aortic dilator function. These changes in vascular structure may amplify aging-related changes to the vasculature and contribute to the pathophysiology of the putative link between impaired fetal growth and adult cardiovascular disease.

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IMPROVEMENT IN CHOLESTEROL EFFLUX CAPACITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH A REDUCTION IN AORTIC WALL THICKNESS BY MRI INDEPENDENT OF TRADITIONAL CV RISK FACTORS

Journal of the American College of Cardiology ◽

10.1016/s0735-1097(17)34866-0 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 69 (11) ◽

pp. 1477

Author(s):

Mohammad Tarek Kabbany ◽

Amit Dey ◽

Parag Shukla ◽

Abhishek Chaturvedi ◽

Anshuma Rana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Wall Thickness ◽

Cholesterol Efflux ◽

Aortic Wall ◽

Cholesterol Efflux Capacity ◽

Aortic Wall Thickness

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Abstract P363: Visceral, but Not Subcutaneous Adiposity by Computed Tomography is Associated With Increased Aortic Wall Thickness in Psoriasis Patients

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.137.suppl_1.p363 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Jacob W Groenendyk ◽

Parag Shukla ◽

Youssef A Elnabawi ◽

Joshua P Rivers ◽

Aditya Goyal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Wall Thickness ◽

Aortic Wall ◽

Subclinical Atherosclerosis ◽

Visceral Adiposity ◽

Framingham Risk ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Multivariable Regression ◽

Aortic Wall Thickness ◽

Subcutaneous Adiposity

Introduction: Patients with psoriasis (PSO), an inflammatory skin disease, experience increased cardiovascular disease and obesity. Traditional measures of obesity, such as BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), do not fully capture the increased cardiovascular risk. Assessment of adipose tissue distribution via CT scan enables characterization of visceral adiposity (VAT) versus subcutaneous adiposity (SAT), which is clinically useful as excess VAT is known to be associated with cardiovascular events. Aortic Wall Thickness (AWT) is a validated measure of subclinical atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between adiposity distribution and AWT is unknown. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that VAT, but not SAT, BMI, or WHR, would be associated with increased AWT in PSO patients. Methods: Consecutive PSO patients (n=164) underwent quantification of VAT and SAT via CT, and AWT via MRI of the descending aorta. Interrelationships were analyzed via multivariable regression. Results: Patients were middle-aged (mean 50.4), predominantly male (56%), and were at low cardiovascular risk (median Framingham risk 3), despite high prevalence of hyperlipidemia (47%). VAT was significantly associated with AWT (β=0.18, p=0.04), SAT, BMI, or WHR did not demonstrate similar association. This association persisted beyond adjustment for SAT, Framingham score, insulin resistance, and systolic BP (β=0.30, p=0.03). Conclusions: Visceral adiposity demonstrated an association with AWT, a marker of early atherosclerosis, whereas subcutaneous adiposity, BMI, and WHR did not. These findings add to a growing body of literature that visceral fat and its assessment may provide incremental data for risk of subclinical CVD.

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Aortic stiffness is associated with vascular calcification and remodeling in a chronic kidney disease rat model

AJP Renal Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajprenal.00079.2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 300 (6) ◽

pp. F1431-F1436 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Keith Ng ◽

Cara M. Hildreth ◽

Jacqueline K. Phillips ◽

Alberto P. Avolio

Keyword(s):

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Smooth Muscle ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Wall Thickness ◽

Vascular Remodeling ◽

Aortic Stiffness ◽

Aortic Wall ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

Aortic Calcification ◽

Aortic Wall Thickness

Increased aortic pulse-wave velocity (PWV) reflects increased arterial stiffness and is a strong predictor of cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease (CKD). We examined functional and structural correlations among PWV, aortic calcification, and vascular remodeling in a rodent model of CKD, the Lewis polycystic kidney (LPK) rat. Hemodynamic parameters and beat-to-beat aortic PWV were recorded in urethane-anesthetized animals [12-wk-old hypertensive female LPK rats ( n = 5)] before the onset of end-stage renal disease and their age- and sex-matched normotensive controls (Lewis, n = 6). Animals were euthanized, and the aorta was collected to measure calcium content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. A separate cohort of animals ( n = 5/group) were anesthetized with pentobarbitone sodium and pressure perfused with formalin, and the aorta was collected for histomorphometry, which allowed calculation of aortic wall thickness, medial cross-sectional area (MCSA), elastic modulus (EM), and wall stress (WS), size and density of smooth muscle nuclei, and relative content of lamellae, interlamellae elastin, and collagen. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and PWV were significantly greater in the LPK compared with Lewis (72 and 33%, respectively) animals. The LPK group had 6.8-fold greater aortic calcification, 38% greater aortic MCSA, 56% greater EM/WS, 13% greater aortic wall thickness, 21% smaller smooth muscle cell area, and 20% less elastin density with no difference in collagen fiber density. These findings demonstrate vascular remodeling and increased calcification with a functional increase in PWV and therefore aortic stiffness in hypertensive LPK rats.

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