TY - JOUR T1 - Carotid artery measures are strongly associated with left ventricular mass in older adults (a report from the Cardiovascular Health Study). JF - Am J Cardiol Y1 - 1996 A1 - Kronmal, R A A1 - Smith, V E A1 - O'Leary, D H A1 - Polak, J F A1 - Gardin, J M A1 - Manolio, T A KW - Aged KW - Carotid Arteries KW - Cohort Studies KW - Female KW - Heart Ventricles KW - Humans KW - Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular KW - Male KW - Regression Analysis KW - Risk Factors KW - Ultrasonography AB -

Associations of carotid artery diameter and intimal-medial thickness by ultrasound with echocardiographic left ventricular (LV) structure were examined in 3,409 participants in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based study of risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke in men and women aged > or = 65 years. At baseline, sector-guided M-mode echocardiography and B-mode ultrasound were used to evaluate the left ventricle and carotid arteries, respectively. Common carotid artery diameter and intimal-medial thickness were significantly related to LV mass in correlational analysis (r=0.40 and 0.20, respectively, p<0.01), and each was independently associated with LV mass after adjustment for age, gender, weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, antihypertensive medication use, prior coronary heart disease, electrocardiographic abnormalities, high-density lipoprotein, and factor VII. We speculate that changes in the arterial wall affect impedance to LV ejection leading to increases in LV mass. Further follow-up of this cohort is in progress and will help to determine whether such carotid artery measures could, by exacerbating LV hypertrophy, constitute another important risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

VL - 77 IS - 8 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8610615?dopt=Abstract ER -