Association between carotid wall layers and invasively measured central blood pressure.

This article, published in Vascular Medicine, explores the association between carotid wall layers and invasively measured central blood pressure (CBP). The study found that increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), which is often used as an indicator of early atherosclerosis, may be influenced by variations in carotid media layer thickness (cMT) rather than intima layer thickness (cIT). The researchers also discovered an inverted U-shaped relationship between cIMT and CBP, with a peak at systolic CBP values of 150-160 mmHg. These findings suggest that cIMT may not accurately reflect pressure overload-induced carotid atherosclerosis and further studies are needed to evaluate the value of cMT and cIT in predicting cardiovascular events. [Extracted from the article]