Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2009, 217(2)

Tissue Doppler Echocardiography for Predicting Arterial Stiffness Assessed by Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index

HISASHI MASUGATA,¹ SHOICHI SENDA,¹ FUMINORI GODA,¹ AYUMU YAMAGAMI,¹ HIROYUKI OKUYAMA,¹ TAKEAKI KOHNO,¹ NAOHISA HOSOMI,² KAZUSHI YUKIIRI,² TAKAHISA NOMA,² HIDEYASU KIYOMOTO,¹ KOJI MURAO,³ AKIRA NISHIYAMA⁴ and MASAKAZU KOHNO²

¹Department of Integrated Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
²Department of Cardiorenal and Cerebrovascular Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
³Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan
⁴Department of Pharmacology, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan

It has been reported that left ventricular (LV) diastolic functional parameters assessed by conventional Doppler echocardiography, which measures blood flow velocities in cardiac cavity, correlate with arterial stiffness assessed by the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and are markers for increased risk of cardiovascular events. Recently, tissue Doppler echocardiography, which measures velocities of regional cardiac wall, has been widely used for assessment of LV diastolic function because of more accuracy than conventional Doppler echocardiography. However, there are no data regarding the ability of tissue Doppler echocardiography for predicting increased arterial stiffness. We investigated the correlation of LV diastolic functional parameters from tissue Doppler echocardiography to CAVI in order to clarify the ability of tissue Doppler echocardiography for predicting increased arterial stiffness in patients with cardiovascular risk factors. Enrolled in the study were 70 patients (69 ± 8 years) who had no overt heart disease, but had at least one of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. The peak early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E') was measured as an index of LV diastolic function using tissue Doppler echocardiography. The E' was correlated with CAVI (r = −0.518, p < 0.001). The optimal cut-off point for the detection of abnormal CAVI (≥ 8.81) was 5.6 cm/s for E' (sensitivity 71%, specificity 71%). The decrease in E' correlated with both LV diastolic dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness. Therefore, the LV diastolic dysfunction assessed by tissue Doppler echocardiography may be useful for predicting increased arterial stiffness and cardiovascular events in the patients with risk factors.

keywords —— echocardiography; left ventricular diastolic function; cardiovascular risk factor; arterial stiffness.

© 2009 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2009, 217, 139-146

Correspondence: Hisashi Masugata, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Integrated Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1, Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.

e-mail: masugata@med.kagawa-u.ac.jp