Carotid artery wave intensity in mid- to late-life predicts cognitive decline: the Whitehall II study.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

Excessive arterial pulsatility may contribute to cognitive decline and risk of dementia via damage to the fragile cerebral microcirculation. We hypothesized that the intensity of downstream-travelling pulsatile waves measured by wave intensity analysis in the common carotid artery during mid- to late-life would be associated with subsequent cognitive decline.

Methods and results

Duplex Doppler ultrasound was used to calculate peak forward-travelling compression wave intensity (FCWI) within the common carotid artery in 3191 individuals [mean ± standard deviation (SD), age = 61 ± 6 years; 75% male] assessed as part of the Whitehall II study in 2003-05. Serial measures of cognitive function were taken between 2002-04 and 2015-16. The relationship between FCWI and cognitive

SUBMITTER: Chiesa ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6642727 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature