ASSESSMENT OF CAROTID ELASTICITY DURING EXERCISE: A REPRODUCIBILITY STUDY

The study aimed to evaluate the reproducibility of carotid elasticity during exercise. Eighteen healthy volunteers (nine males, age 34 +/- 3 years, BMI 22 +/- 6 kg/m(2)) underwent maximal exercise testing on a graded semi-supine cycle ergometer in two different sessions 3 days apart. Ultrasound B-mode image sequences of the right common carotid were acquired at different steps and analyzed by an automatic system; pressures were estimated by tonometry. Compliance (CC) and distensibility (DC) were significantly decreased at exercise peak and in the first recovery minute (CC from 1.6 +/- 0.8 to 1 +/- 0.6 mm boolean AND(2) /KPa, DC from 56.2 +/- 25.3 to 34.5 +/- 20 10 boolean AND(-3)/KPa, p < 0.05). For the whole examination, intraclass coefficient was 0.780 for CC and 0.694 for DC. Mean coefficient of variation was maximum at peak exercise (CC = 19 +/- 6%, DC = 24 +/- 15%), but at first minute of recovery it was comparable to resting values (CC = 12 +/- 9%, DC = 12 +/- 11%). When designing future studies, acquisitions during first recovery minute might be preferred to peak measures. (E-mail: betta@ifc.cnr.it) (C) 2012 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.