Evaluation of Common Carotid Artery Wall Stiffness by Shear Wave Elastography in Smokers and Non-smokers

Introduction: Smoking is one of the most important preventable causes of cardiovascular diseases. Vascular disease caused by smoking is associated with vascular endothelial damage, platelet aggregation, and adhesion. In our study, we examined the effect of chronic smoking on vessel wall stiffness in smokers and control group by measuring carotid artery wall stiffness by shear wave ultrasonography.

Methods: Sixty-two smokers of similar ages and genders, and 67 people who never smoked in the last ten years were included as the control group in this cross-sectional study. Arterial wall stiffness over the common carotid arteries of all participants was measured by shear wave elastography (SWE). In addition, each patient's blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, body mass index (BMI), HDL and LDL cholesterol measurements were recorded.

Results: Arterial wall stiffness values in smokers were found to be statistically significantly higher than in non-smokers. The mean of SWE measurements of the smokers was 47.3 ± 6.2 kPa, and that of the control group was 42.9 ± 4 kPa. The mean values of HDL and LDL of the smokers were 46.9 ± 5.6 mg/dL and 147.3 ± 9.3 mg/dL, respectively, and those of the control group were 50.3 ± 5.1 mg/dL and 136.9 ± 5.9 mg/dL. The LDL cholesterol values were statistically significantly higher in smokers compared to the control group, and HDL cholesterol values were statistically significantly lower in smokers.

Conclusions: In our study, the arterial wall stiffness values measured by the SWE technique were higher in smokers than non-smokers.