Increased aortic diameter raises risk of heart attack, stroke
Date:
April 12, 2022
Source:
Radiological Society of North America
Summary:
The diameter of the thoracic aorta is a biomarker for heart attacks
and other adverse cardiovascular events in women and men, according
to a new study.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The diameter of the thoracic aorta is a biomarker for heart attacks and
other adverse cardiovascular events in women and men, according to a
new study published in the journal Radiology.
==========================================================================
The aorta is a large artery that carries oxygenated blood to the heart
and other parts of the body. The portion that passes through the chest,
known as the thoracic aorta, is divided into an ascending aorta that
rises from the left ventricle of the heart and a descending aorta in
the back of the chest.
The thoracic aorta grows as we age, but changes of vessel size and
structure, a phenomenon known as vascular remodeling, have a systemic
nature involving hemodynamic -- basic measures of cardiovascular function
and blood circulation -- and biological processes that are also linked
to cardiovascular disease.
"While enlargement of the thoracic aorta is a frequent finding in clinical practice, few longitudinal data regarding its long-term prognosis for
major cardiovascular disease outcomes at the population level exist,"
said study senior author Maryam Kavousi M.D., Ph.D., from the Department
of Epidemiology at Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Dr. Kavousi and colleagues assessed these associations in 2,178
participants from the population-based Rotterdam Study. Participants
underwent multi- detector CT scans between 2003 and 2006 and were followed
for nine years, on average. Thoracic aorta diameters were indexed for
body mass index (BMI).
Larger BMI-indexed ascending and descending thoracic aortic diameters were significantly associated with increased risk of adverse cardiovascular
outcomes like stroke and death in both women and men.
==========================================================================
"Our results suggest that imaging-based assessment of diameter of thoracic aorta can be considered as a risk marker for future cardiovascular
disease," Dr. Kavousi said.
In women, greater ascending aortic diameter was associated with 33%
higher cardiovascular mortality risk. Remodeling of the aging aorta seems
to be different between women and men with faster deterioration in women.
"Aging could affect aortic health and structure more adversely in women
than in men," Dr. Kavousi said.
The study findings suggest that cardiovascular risk assessment associated
with thoracic aortic size among asymptomatic women and men could lead
to effective, sex-specific prevention strategies.
"As the aortic diameter is significantly related to body size, use
of aortic diameters indexed for body measurements could improve its
prognostic value for cardiovascular outcomes," Dr. Kavousi said.
Thoracic aorta size assessment could easily be added to existing screening methods, the researchers said. The cardiac CT scans deployed in the
study are already commonly used to assess coronary calcium. Thoracic
aortic diameter could also be measured routinely, for example as part
of CT-based lung cancer screening.
The current study was based on a single CT-based assessment of thoracic
aorta among a large group of participants from the general population,
followed up for nine years for incidence of cardiovascular outcomes and mortality. The researchers have recently repeated the CT-based assessment
of thoracic aorta among these participants after a median of 14 years.
"This provides an exciting and unique opportunity to study sex-specific
risk profiles and patterns of growth in thoracic aorta in the general population," Dr. Kavousi said.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Radiological_Society_of_North_America. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.
========================================================================== Journal References:
1. Oscar L. Rueda-Ochoa, Lidia R. Bons, Fang Zhu, Sofie Rohde,
Khalid El
Ghoul, Ricardo P. J. Budde, M. Kamran Ikram, Jaap W. Deckers,
Meike W.
Vernooij, Oscar H. Franco, Aad van der Lugt, Daniel Bos, Jolien
W. Roos- Hesselink, Maryam Kavousi. Thoracic Aortic Diameter and
Cardiovascular Events and Mortality among Women and Men. Radiology,
2022; DOI: 10.1148/ radiol.210861
2. Michelle C. Williams. Sex-based Differences in Outcomes Related to
Thoracic Aorta Dimensions. Radiology, 2022; DOI:
10.1148/radiol.220402 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220412141043.htm
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