Ultrasonographic assessment of abdominal aortic elasticity in hypertensive dogs

Abstract

Background: Systemic hypertension (SH) is a persistent and pathological increase in arterial blood pressure (BP). Chronic SH leads to an increase in aortic (Ao) stiffness, and measuring Ao elasticity is useful for estimating Ao stiffness in humans. Currently, no literature in veterinary medicine describes noninvasive assessment of abdominal Ao elasticity in dogs with SH. Objective: Compare ultrasonographic-derived abdominal Ao strain (AoSt) between hypertensive (HT) and normotensive (NT) dogs. Animals: Fifty privately-owned dogs with clinical signs, conditions, or both potentially associated with SH. Methods: Prospective observational case-control study. Aortic stiffness was estimated by calculating AoSt as follows: AoSt = ([AoDs − AoDd]/AoDd) × 100, where AoDs and AoDd are the Ao diameter in systole and in diastole, respectively. Aortic stiffness was calculated from 2 different Ao transverse sections, the first caudal to the left renal artery (K_AoSt), and the second cranial to the external iliac arteries (I_AoSt). Results: Thirty-two dogs were included in the HT group and 18 in the NT group. Both K_AoSt and I_AoSt in HT dogs were significantly lower (P < .05) than in NT dogs (7.4 ± SD 3.6) vs 10.3 (±3.8) and 5.7 (interquartile range [IQR], 3.9-7.5) vs 8.1 (IQR, 7-10.3), respectively. Only K_AoSt was significantly influenced by age. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Ultrasonographic Ao elasticity assessment was feasible to compare HT and NT dogs. Results indicated that K_AoSt and I_AoSt indices can be used to assess SH-related Ao stiffness, especially when indirect BP

Assessment of abdominal aortic elasticity and its relationship with blood pressure in dogs at different stages of degenerative mitral disease

“…Most studies in dogs have extrapolated data from humans, particularly for the evaluation of arterial stiffness. The pulsatile pressure formula used in the study by Corda et al (2020) is based on the difference between systolic and diastolic BP, and it has been accepted as an index for ultrasonographic measurements. It is calculated as the pulse pressure rate and the relative change in diameter; therefore, AAE was measured at the level of the iliac artery bifurcation because the measurements at the renal artery level are considered to be signi cantly affected by the age of the patients.…”

“…The indirect methods are usually linked to imprecise biased results since they are in uenced by the stress the patient is subjected to at the time of measurement, the anxiety produced by manipulation, and the sensitivity of the oscillometric equipment. Alteration of the abdominal aortic elasticity (AAE) has been associated with arterial hypertension stages in both humans (Kamberi et al 2013) and dogs (Corda et al 2020). By using AAE, Corda et al in 2020 showed that this technique could help differentiate hypertensive from normotensive dogs.…”

Aortic Stiffness: A Major Risk Factor for Multimorbidity in the Elderly

“…Further, the excessive penetration of pulsatile energy resulting from the increased AoStiff into the microvasculature of organs that operate at low vascular resistance causes their damage (e.g., kidney and brain) [ 32 ]. Hypertension is also associated with aortic stiffness in animals, as demonstrated in dogs [ 33 ].…”

The Progress of Advanced Ultrasonography in Assessing Aortic Stiffness and the Application Discrepancy between Humans and Rodents

“…Moreover, a structure-based aortic stiffness assessment has been applied in large animal models to determine the regional aortic stiffness. A recent study used B-mode-derived AS to measure the aortic stiffness at two different transverse sections (renal and iliac level) with or without hypertension and indicated that the regional AS can be used to assess abdominal aortic stiffness, especially when the indirect BP measurements are inaccurate [ 19 ]. In addition, using an invasive pressure catheter or an implanted aortic pressure probe, the regional aortic pressure can be measured directly or continuously in large animal models, which provided a more accurate and reliable assessment of regional aortic stiffness [ 14 , 15 ].…”

“…As a non-invasive method, ultrasonography has been used in clinical diagnosis for aortic stiffness in many aortic disorders such as atherosclerotic degeneration and aortic aneurysms through measuring the wall-thickness, diameter, structural defects, blood flow velocity, and other pathological changes in the aorta [ 7 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. The developed techniques used in patients also provide powerful tools for basic science research in different animal models, particularly the large animal models such as monkeys, swine, canines, and horses [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The combination of ultrasonography with other invasive strategies in large animal models provides valuable direct evidence of the pathogenesis of the diseases that may not be able to obtain from human studies, which, in turn, led to the translational development of new diagnostic techniques and therapeutic strategies for predicting and preventing cardiovascular disease complications in humans [ 20 ].…”