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Relation betwEen Abdominal Aorta and Carotid Artery Responses to SymPathetic stimulatiON uSing duplEx Ultrasound

NCT04035252 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2020-10-12

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common vascular disease and associated with risk of rupture, but also with a high cardiovascular (CV) event rate. A key difficulty in AAA is predicting these life-threatening complications. Recent studies suggest that the endothelial function of the abdominal aorta might have a correlation with the disease development. A novel, easy to perform, non-invasive test can assess central artery endothelial function (i.e. the carotid artery reactivity (CAR)). The CAR test is based on the cold pressure test (CPT), which induces sympathetic stimulation by placing one hand in cold water. Using duplex ultrasound, central artery blood flow and diameter responses can be examined.

Previous work has demonstrated that the CPT is associated with an increase in abdominal aortic diameter, whilst others found that the carotid and coronary artery diameter also shows dilation. Interestingly, a previous study found a strong correlation between carotid and coronary artery diameter responses to the CPT, whilst these artery responses show independent prognostic value for future cardiovascular events in patients with peripheral arterial disease. Possibly, similarity may be present in central artery reactivity to the CPT. To date, no study examined whether carotid and aorta responses are in agreement during the CPT. Given the potential importance of central artery vasoreactivity for AAA, the CAR-test may have potential in this group, especially given the relative simplicity of measuring the carotid artery.

The aim of this explorative study is to investigate the correlation between the magnitude of the abdominal aorta and the carotid artery diameter and blood flow responses during the sympathetic stimulation (using the cold pressor test) between healthy young, healthy older and individuals with AAA.

Conditions

  • Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Carotid artery reactivity test (CAR-test)

The CAR test will be applied to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. This thermal stimulus is known to elevate blood pressure via sympathetic pathways, so it can be used to study the vascular response to sympathetic activation. The participant will submerge their left hand in a bucket of ice water (approximately 4 degrees celcius) for 3 minutes, which is reported to be sufficient to induce a maximal dilation in the common carotid artery. At baseline and every minute after the hand is submerged in ice water, the blood pressure will be measured to check whether a sympathetic stimulation is achieved. During this test as well the carotid artery as the abdominal aorta will be visualized using ultrasound.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Radboud University Medical Center

    collaborator OTHER

  • Rijnstate Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Michel Reijnen, MD, Prof · Rijnstate Hospital

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-10-01
Primary Completion
2020-08-01
Completion
2020-10-05

Countries

  • Netherlands

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04035252 on ClinicalTrials.gov