Association of Superficial Femoral Artery and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thicknesses (IMTs)

Abstract

Objective Carotid and Superficial Femoral Arteries IMTs have emerged as valuable non-invasive measures to assess subclinical atherosclerosis. This study investigates the association of Carotid and Superficial Femoral Artery Intima-Media Thicknesses as SFA IMT is mostly affected by Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Methods A pilot observational study was conducted on patients with clinical symptoms of Peripheral Arterial Disease, using an Ultrasound assessment of Carotid artery and Superficial Femoral Artery IMTs. The research involved scanning of both arteries IMTs in 18 patients and 12 control individuals with no known arterial disease, where the Peak Systolic Velocity, IMTs, diameters of both arteries, and End Diastolic Velocity (EDV) of carotid artery were recorded. Age, gender, risk factors, and Body Mass Index (BMI) were collected as demographic data.

Results 30 individuals (14 females and 16 males) were included in this study with age ranges from 21- 78 years. Patients undergoing medicinal treatment, hypertension, and those who led sedentary lifestyles demonstrated a greater influence on SFA IMT. The means of Carotid artery IMT and the SFA IMT were 0.54 ± 0.28 mm and 0.74 ± 0.35 mm respectively, indicating a statistically significant difference (P<0.001). This suggests that SFA is more affected by PAD than the carotid artery. This would make SFA IMT a more sensitive surrogate marker of the presence of arterial disease.

Conclusions The data from this study suggests that SFA IMT is a more sensitive surrogate marker of the presence of arterial disease than traditional carotid IMT measurement. Further investigation with a larger sample size is recommended to corroborate this finding. The results of this study could help to enhance the current diagnostic method for PAD.