ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the function of carotid artery elasticity,radial strain (RS),and radial strain rate (RSR) in pregnancyinduced hypertension (PIH),and to conduct a comparative study with healthy pregnant women by using the arterial analysis technique.Methods Twenty-eight women with PIH were included,and 30 age-and gestational age-matched normal pregnant women were included as the control group.The arterial analysis technique was performed to trace the movement of the carotid artery and obtain RS and RSR values automatically for statistical analysis.Results In the PIH group,stiffness parameter β3 and pulse-wave velocity were significantly higher than those in the normal pregnancy group.Arterial compliance,RS,and RSR were lower,with significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).The differences in augmentation index were insignificant.Pulse-wave velocity was negatively related with RS.Conclusion These sensitive parameters could potentially be applied for early evaluation of vascular structure,and RS is more sensitive than RSR.By using the arterial analysis technique,early detection of decreased artery elasticity function is possible before blood vessel structural impairment.