Assessment of Common Carotid Artery Lumen Dynamics in Senescent Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

There is a correlation between arterial stiffness and chronic heart failure (CHF). A gap persists in the data on changes in the common carotid artery (CCA) lumen during the diastole-systole cycle. Our objective is to introduce a novel ultrasound method to measure temporal changes in the diameter of the CCA lumen and apply this method in both healthy volunteers and senescent patients with CHF. Eleven patients who underwent treatment for chronic heart failure exacerbation receiving optimal medical therapy (OMT) and ten healthy volunteers, respectively, constituted the chronic heart failure and control groups respectively, were analyzed. Using the GE linear probe and ECG recording for signal synchronization, cross-sectional vessel images were gained from at least six heartbeats. The images underwent statistical analysis. We proposed the surface area of the vessel's cross-section area calculation to enhance the diameter estimation precision validated by circularity checks. Such an approach ensures greater precision than a conventional, direct vessel diameter measurement with an ultrasound. Results : The measurement showed that the vessel diameter of the CHF group was greater than that of the control group and the distensibility of the vessel was lower. Also, the slope of temporal increase of the diameter of the vessel in the heart cycle was lower in the chronic heart failure group, suggesting that the vessel reaches maximum diameter slower than the control group. Conclusions : Ultrasound measurements can be an interesting approach to asses artery wall movements in various medical conditions. Despite OMT, senescent CHF patients demonstrated an alternated wall movement pattern.