Doppler ultrasonography of the ophthalmic artery in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a new approach

Abstract

Background

The vascular endothelium has specific estrogen receptors and the impact of hormone therapy (HT) on circulation is associated with cardiovascular protection in perimenopause and postmenopause. Blood vessels can be assessed by ultrasound Doppler velocimetry, and more specifically the study of the ophthalmic artery (OA) can be used for brain vessel assessment; more recently, it is a possible method for cardiovascular risk assessment.

Methods

A cross-sectional study involved perimenopausal and postmenopausal women divided into three groups: 60 non-HT users (control group), 23 users of estrogen therapy (ET group), and 23 users of estrogen–progesterone therapy (EPT group). Doppler velocimetry of the OA was performed with analysis of the resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), systolic peak velocity (P1), second systolic peak velocity (P2), peak velocity ratio (PVR), final diastolic velocity (FDV), and ratio between means of systolic and diastolic velocity (SDR).

Results

There was no significant difference between the groups in Doppler velocimetry indices of the OA: RI (p = 0.94), PI (p = 0.85), P1 (p = 0.81), P2 (p = 0.53), PVR (p = 0.41), FDV (p = 0.76), and SDR (p = 0.84). We observed a positive correlation of the SDR with age only in the control group (r = 0.34, p = 0.01).

Conclusions

There is a positive correlation between the SDR and age in the control group. Therefore, this new index is a promising instrument in the non-invasive assessment of cardiovascular risk.

摘要

背景：血管内皮具有特异性的雌激素受体, 激素治疗（HT）对循环的影响与保护围绝经期和绝经后女性的心血管系统有关。通过超声多普勒测速仪可以对血管进行评估, 更具体地说, 可以将眼动脉（OA）的研究用于脑血管评估。近年来, 它可能成为一种心血管风险评估的方法。

方法：本研究是一项横断面研究, 纳入围绝经期和绝经后的妇女并分为三组：未应用HT者60名（对照组）, 雌激素治疗者23名（ET组）和雌激素-孕激素治疗者23名（EPT组）。应用超声多普勒对眼动脉进行检测, 分析阻力指数（RI）, 搏动指数（PI）, 收缩期峰值速度（P1）, 第二收缩期峰值速度（P2）, 峰值速度比（PVR）, 最终舒张期速度（FDV）, 以及收缩期平均速度和舒张期平均速度之比（SDR）。

结果： OA的多普勒测速指标各组之间无显着差异：RI（p  = 0.94）, PI（p  = 0.85）, P1（p  = 0.81）, P2（p  = 0.53）, PVR（p  = 0.41）, FDV（p  = 0.76）和SDR（p  = 0.84）。我们仅在对照组中观察到SDR与年龄呈正相关（r  = 0.34, p  = 0.01）。

结论：对照组的SDR与年龄之间存在正相关。因此, 这一新指标有希望成为评估心血管疾病风险的无创方法。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• ophthalmic artery
• ultrasonography Doppler
• hormone replacement therapy

Potential conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Source of funding

Nil.