The possible association of peak systolic velocity in the carotid artery with coronary heart disease – a study based on portable ultrasound

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the highest cause of death globally with more people dying annually from it than from any other cause. CVD is associated with modifiable risk factors (dyslipidaemia, hypertension and diabetes) and treating each of these factors lowers the risk of CVD. It is impossible to estimate the benefit of risk factor modification in the individual patient and extrapolating data from multiple trials is difficult. It would be useful to have a marker of risk that accurately estimates real time risk by measuring blood flow factors associated with the pathogenesis of atheroma. The aim of this preliminary study was to validate a low-cost measurement technique for obtaining blood flow velocity profiles and assess whether any of the measured and calculated factors, based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, known to be associated with atheroma was associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), thus establishing its feasibility and acceptability as a clinical tool and suggesting areas for future research. Our study identified (i) that mean peak systolic (PS) velocity being associated with CHD; individuals without CHD: mean (SD) = 62.8 (16.1) cm/s, with CHD: mean (SD) = 53.6 (17.3) cm/s, p = 0.042; and (ii) that low-cost, portable ultrasound, which is routinely available in general practice, is a suitable assessment tool.