Non-invasive Detection of Alterations of the Carotid Artery in Pregnant Women with High-frequency Ultrasound

Objective: To compare the thickness of the layers of the carotid artery wall in pregnant and fertile non-pregnant women.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Subjects: Fifty-one pregnant women at a mean gestational age of 38.9 weeks and 64 fertile non-pregnant women were examined at a University hospital.

Methods: The three layers (adventitia, media, intima) of the superficial wall of the left common carotid artery were identified and measured with high-resolution ultrasound (22.5 MHz).

Results: Pregnant women had a thinner intima layer (0.25 +/- 0.07/0.29 +/- 0.08 mm) and a thicker media layer (0.31 +/- 0.08/0.27 +/- 0.09 mm) compared with controls. A statistically significantly higher intima/media ratio was calculated for the pregnant women (1.14 +/- 0.03), compared with the non-pregnant women (0.88 +/- 0.04).

Conclusion: There are differences in the thickness of the histological layers of the carotid artery wall in pregnant compared with non-pregnant women. This is likely to be due to the effect of different estradiol levels in these two groups.