Key result
Vector flow imaging measures carotid wall shear stress in ~99% of adults, revealing age-related declines.
Why the study?
The feasibility of vector flow imaging technique (V Flow) for measuring wall shear stress of common carotid arteries and normal reference values in healthy adults were unknown.
Does vector flow imaging technique (V Flow) feasibly measure wall shear stress of common carotid arteries in healthy adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=80)
Does vector flow imaging technique (V Flow) feasibly measure wall shear stress of common carotid arteries in healthy adults?
V Flow measurement is a feasible and reliable ultrasound method for assessing wall shear stress of the common carotid artery in healthy adults.
Provides reference WSS values by V Flow in healthy adults; leaves open validation for cardiovascular risk assessment.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of vector flow imaging technique (V Flow) in measurement of wall shear stress (WSS) of common carotid arteries (CCA) in healthy adults and to provide the normal WSS values assessed by V Flow. METHODS & MATERIALS: This prospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of our University. Eighty healthy adult volunteers were included (mean age 43.3 y, 47 females, 33 males). The volunteers were classified into three groups according to their age: group I (age 20 - 39 y), group II (age 40 - 59 y) and group III (age 60 - 80 y). Mindray Resona 8 ultrasound machine and a linear array transducer (3-9 MHz) was used, equipped with the updated V Flow function. Common carotid arteries of both sides were evaluated in three segments (initial segment, middle segment and near bifurcation segment). The WSS values of CCA were measured by two independent radiologists. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of observer reliability in WSS measurement was calculated. Inter-observer reproducibility was also evaluated with the 95% Bland-Altman limits of agreement (LOA). RESULTS: V Flow measurements were performed successfully in 79 volunteers (98.8 %, 79/80). The mean value of WSS in right CCA was (0.66±0.24) Pa, in left CCA was (0.66±0.18) Pa (P > 0.05). Mean WSS value had a moderately negative correlation with age group (P < 0.05). The mean WSS value of group I(mean±SD, 0.75±0.25 Pa) is larger than group II (mean±SD, 0.62±0.13 Pa) and group III (mean±SD, 0.49±0.11 Pa) (P < 0.05). The ICC of observer reliability of group I, II and III was 0.96 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.92-0.98), 0.94 (95% CI 0.88-0.97), 0.93 (95% CI 0.76-0.98) respectively. The Bland-Altman plots showed that the 95% LOA were -0.17-0.12 (Pa) for group I, -0.09-0.13 (Pa) for group II and -0.08-0.10 (Pa) for group III. CONCLUSION: V Flow measurement is a simple, rapid and feasible imaging method for the WSS assessment of CCA in healthy volunteers, which will probably be an important tool for assessing CCA function.
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Qiu et al. (2019) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy adults (n=80). Vector flow imaging technique (V Flow) was evaluated on Feasibility of V Flow measurement. Vector flow imaging successfully measured common carotid artery wall shear stress in 98.8% of healthy adults, revealing that mean WSS values significantly decrease with advancing age (P<0.05).
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