Published Online
on June 17, 2002

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 2, 2002

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Submitted on February 18, 2002
Revised on April 23, 2002
Accepted on April 23, 2002

Impaired Carotid Viscoelastic Properties in Women With Polycystic Ovaries

Kalpana Lakhani MSc, Alexander M. Seifalian PhD, and Paul Hardiman MD^*

From the Ultrasound Department (K.L.), North Middlesex Hospital; Cardiovascular Haemodynamic Unit (A.M.S.), University Department of Surgery; and University Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (P.H.), Royal Free and University College Medical School, University College London and The Royal Free Hospital, London, UK.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hardiman{at}rfc.ucl.ac.uk.

Background—The purpose of this study was to assess the elastic properties of the carotid arteries in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome, asymptomatic women with polycystic ovaries, and healthy controls.

Methods and Results—We recruited the following 60 subjects: 20 symptomatic women with polycystic ovaries attending the reproductive endocrinology clinics, 20 asymptomatic women with polycystic ovaries attending the family planning clinic, and 20 staff volunteers as healthy controls with normal ovaries on transvaginal scan. Compliance and stiffness index were assessed in the common and internal carotid arteries using duplex ultrasound equipped with an echo-locked arterial wall--tracking system. Compliance was significantly lower in the common carotid artery in symptomatic and asymptomatic women with polycystic ovaries than in the controls (10.7, 14.1, and 19.2 %mm Hg^-1x10^-2, respectively). The arterial stiffness index was correspondingly increased (12.3, 10.2, and 6.7, respectively). Similar results were obtained in the internal carotid artery for compliance (10.1, 11.0, and 16.9 %mm Hg^-1x10^-2, respectively) and stiffness index (14.8, 16.2, and 8.7, respectively).

Conclusions—The results of this study provide additional evidence of vascular dysfunction in women with polycystic ovaries and are compatible with the hypothesis that they are at increased risk from coronary artery disease and stroke.

Key words: carotid arteries • cardiovascular disease • stroke • elasticity • hemodynamics

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