Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. The aim of our study was to determine arterial stiffness in OSA patients by means of the ultrasound speckle-tracking-based method. Twenty six OSA patients and 17 control subjects were enrolled in the study. The speckle-tracking-based analysis of carotid artery included circumferential strains, circumferential strain rates, radial displacement, and radial strain rates. We found that the global average circumferential strains, circumferential strain rates, and radial displacement were significantly lower in OSA patients compared to controls (2.19 ± 0.30 % vs. 4.17 ± 0.33 %, 0.22 ± 0.03 l/s vs. 0.31 ± 0.02 l/s, 0.10 ± 0.01 mm vs. 0.16 ± 0.02 mm, respectively, p < 0.05 for all). There were no significant differences in radial strain rates between the groups (0.32 ± 0.04 % vs. 0.33 ± 0.01 %). We conclude that OSA is associated with an increased arterial stiffness.
Keywords: Functional vessel damage; Intermittent nocturnal hypoxia; Vascular incompliance; Vessel wall deformation; Vessel wall motion.