ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the characteristics of abdominal aorta wall motion in different stages of rats atherosclerosis with velocity vector imaging (VVI) technique. Methods Twenty-four healthy SD rats were on high-fat feeding after one week ordinary diet. Abdominal aortic intima-media thickness (IMT), end-systolic blood vessel diameter (Ds), peak systolic velocity (Vs), resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI) were measured before and at the end of 8th and 12nd week. Artery wall peak velocity (V_(max)), maximum tangential strain (S_(max)) and the maximum tangential strain rate (SR_(max)) were caculated with VVI. Results Abdominal aortic intima was rough and a small amount of foam cells were found under the light microscope at the end of 8 weeks of high-fat feeding. The values of Smax and SRmax measured at the end of 8th week of high-fat feeding decreased significantly than those of before high-fat feeding (P<0.05). At the end of 12nd week, abdominal aortic intimal was thicker and atherosclerotic plaque appeared somewhere. There were significant differences in artery IMT, Ds, Vs, RI, PI between before and the end of 2nd week of high-fat feeding (P<0.05);the values of V_(max), S_(max), SR_(max) decreased significantly than those of before and at the end of 8th week of high-fat feeding (P<0.05). Conclusion VVI can quantitatively evaluate the vessel wall elasticity in different stage of arteriosclerosis rats.