Does the change in carotid arterial stiffness parameter β during passive leg raising correlate with flow-mediated dilation in healthy male volunteers?
Change in carotid arterial stiffness parameter β during passive leg raising strongly correlates with flow-mediated dilation, offering a simpler, alternative surrogate marker for vascular endothelial function.
Background: Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is the established parameter of endothelial function but requires skill and specialized equipment. This study aimed to investigate whether changes in carotid artery ultrasound parameters during passive leg raising (PLR) could reflect FMD values. Methods and Results: predicted decreased FMD with an area under the curve of 0.89, sensitivity of 87%, and specificity of 83% at an optimal cut-off of 4.7%. Conclusions: Change in carotid arterial stiffness parameter β during the PLR maneuver correlated with FMD, suggesting it may serve as an alternative indicator for endothelial function.
Okada et al. (Tue,) studied this question.