Enlargement of the Diameter of the Peripheral Arteries in Patients with Idiopathic Venous Thrombosis

Zusammenfassung

Ziel: Kürzliche Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass die Erweiterung des Durchmessers der peripheren Arterien ein Risiko für atherosklerotische kardiovaskuläre Erkrankungen darstellt. Da die Daten einen Zusammenhang zwischen Artheriosklerose und Venenthrombose (VT) zeigen, untersuchten wir, ob bei Patienten mit idiopathischer VT der Durchmesser der peripheren Arterien größer ist als bei gesunden Probanden. Material und Methoden: Die Studie schloss 49 Patienten mit idiopathischer VT und 48 altersentsprechende Kontrollprobanden ein. Die Durchmesser der Arteria brachialis, der Karotis und der Oberschenkelschlagader sowie die Intima-Media-Dicke (IMT) von Karotis und Oberschenkelschlagader wurde durch Hochfrequenz-Ultraschall bestimmt. Ergebnisse: Die Patienten hatten signifikant größere Durchmesser der Karotis als die Kontrollen: 7,9 mm (7,4 – 8,4 mm) vs. 7,4 mm (7,0 – 7,9 mm), p < 0,001 und der Oberschenkelschlagader: 10,3 mm (9,2 – 11,1 mm) vs. 9,5 mm (8,9 – 10,4 mm), p = 0,025. Die Durchmesser von beiden, Karotis und Oberschenkelschlagader, zeigten signifikante Korrelationen zu Geschlecht, Alter, Body-Mass-Index und IMT. Die lineare Regressionsanalyse bestätigte deutlich, dass das Vorhandensein einer VT signifikant und unabhängig den Durchmesser von Karotis und Oberschenkelschlagader, jedoch nicht den der Arteria brachialis, beeinflusste. Schlussfolgerung: Die Ergebnisse unserer Studie zeigten, dass die Durchmesser von Karotis und Oberschenkelschlagader bei Patienten mit idiopathischer VT im Vergleich zu gesunden Probanden vergrößert sind. Da die Erweiterung der untersuchten Arterien auf eine Arteriosklerose hinweist, stimmen unsere Ergebnisse mit der Annahme überein, dass es eine Wechselbeziehung zwischen VT und arterieller atherosklerotischer Erkrankung gibt.

Abstract

Purpose: Recent findings indicate that enlargement of the diameter of the peripheral arteries represents a risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events. As the data indicate a relationship between atherosclerosis and venous thrombosis (VT), we investigated whether the diameter of the peripheral arteries is larger in patients with idiopathic VT than in healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: The study included 49 patients with idiopathic VT and 48 age-matched healthy controls. Diameters of the brachial, common carotid and common femoral arteries as well as the intima media thickness (IMT) of the carotid and femoral arteries were measured with the high frequency ultrasound method. Results: Patients had significantly higher values for the diameter of the common carotid artery than the controls: 7.9 mm (7.4 – 8.4 mm) vs. 7.4 mm (7.0 – 7.9 mm), p < 0.001, and for the common femoral artery: 10.3 mm (9.2 – 11.1 mm) vs. 9.5 mm (8.9 – 10.4 mm), p = 0.025. Both the carotid and femoral diameters showed significant correlations with gender, age, body mass index and IMT. Linear regression analysis confirmed that the presence of VT significantly and independently influenced the diameter of the carotid and femoral artery but not the brachial artery. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that carotid and femoral artery diameters are enlarged in patients with idiopathic VT in comparison to healthy subjects. Since enlargement of the investigated arterial diameters is an indicator of atherosclerosis, our findings are consistent with the presumption that there is some interrelationship between VT and arterial atherosclerotic disease.

Key words

atherosclerosis - venous thrombosis - intima media thickness - diameter - risk

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