Antonio Torraco

Excess Prevalence of Supraaortic Artery Lesions in Renovascular Hypertension: An Arteriographic Study

PurposeHigh renin or renovascular hypertension (RVH) has been associated with a higher risk of stroke than low-to-normal renin hypertension. Our present purpose was to investigate the angiographic prevalence and distribution of lesions of the supraaortic arteries in a series of consecutive patients with RVH compared with control patients with low-to-normal renin primary hypertension (PH).MethodsThirty-two consecutive hypertensives (21 females, 11 males, aged 23–72 years) were investigated by renal and aortic arch digital subtraction arteriography (DSA). None of them had any history or symptoms of cerebrovascular disease. In each, the presence and severity of lesions at 17 different segments of the supraaortic arteries were evaluated and a score for supraaortic lesions was then calculated based on the number and severity of lesions. RVH was diagnosed in 16 patients with renal artery stenoses and normalization of blood pressure after percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) (n=12) or surgery (n=4). The cause of renal artery obstruction was fibrodysplasia in 5 patients (31%) and atherosclerosis in 11 (69%). PH was diagnosed in 16 patients based on a normal renal DSA and exclusion of all other possible causes of hypertension.ResultsThe RVH and PH groups were similar with respect to age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, smoking habits, serum triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure values, and differed only in plasma renin activity (6.0±1.7 ng AngI/ml/h in RVH vs. 1.4±0.3 in PH, mean±SEM, p=0.008). The score for supraaortic arterial lesions was significantly higher in RVH than in PH (181±32 vs. 17±9, p=0.001). This difference was also evident when the five patients with fibrodysplasia were compared with five age- and sex-matched PH patients. The sites most frequently involved were the carotid artery bulb and the internal carotid artery sinus. At each affected site the score was higher for RVH than for PH.ConclusionFor the same demographic features and risk profile, RVH was associated with a higher prevalence and severity of supraaortic artery lesions than PH.

Intravascular Ultrasound Evaluation for Assessment and Therapeutic Decisions in Aortic Diseases

Intravascular sonography (IVS) was employed in several aortic pathologies. Acute dissecting aneurysm, chronic or recurrent dissection in previously re paired aneurysm, iatrogenic (postcatheterism) dissection, noncommunicating dissection (mural hematoma), chronic and acute partial thrombosis, and mural fibrosis following aspecific aortitis were studied. The stationary and dynamic observations combined with angiographic findings provided useful information for characterization of the lesions and for therapeutic decisions. In all 14 pa tients studied, supplemental data achieved from IVS suggest that a combination of angiography and IVS is the most nearly complete examination for concomi tant and fast diagnostic workup.