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Multicenter Study
. 2014 Mar 6:14:98.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-14-98.

Carotid artery elasticity decreases during pregnancy - the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study

Henna Kärkkäinen  1 , Heli Saarelainen, Pirjo Valtonen, Tiina Laitinen, Olli T Raitakari, Markus Juonala, Mika Kähönen, Nina Hutri-Kähönen, Seppo Heinonen, Tomi Laitinen
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Carotid artery elasticity decreases during pregnancy - the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study

Henna Kärkkäinen et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: The aims were to evaluate the effect of pregnancy on carotid artery elasticity and determine the associations between maternal lipids, endothelial function and arterial elasticity during pregnancy.

Methods: We examined 99 pregnant and 99 matched non-pregnant control women as part of a population-based prospective cohort study. Carotid artery elasticity indexes; carotid artery distensibility (CAD), Young's elastic modulus (YEM) and stiffness index (SI) as well as brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) were assessed using ultrasound; serum lipid levels were also determined.

Results: SI was 57% and YEM 75% higher and CAD 36% lower in the third trimester group than the corresponding values in the first trimester group. Serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in women at the end of the pregnancy than at the beginning of pregnancy (P < 0.001) and in controls (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, gestational age was the only independent correlate of arterial elasticity in pregnant women. In controls, age (P ≤ 0.001) and common carotid diameter (P = 0.001-0.029) were associated with SI, YEM and CAD.

Conclusions: The present study revealed that carotid artery elasticity declined towards the end of the pregnancy; this neither is straight correlating with maternal hyperlipidemia or the diameter of the carotid artery nor is it associated with changes in endothelial function.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlations between carotid elasticity indexes and gestational weeks. The levels of the indexes in the control group are described in Table 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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