Diastolic Retrograde Arterial Flow and Biphasic Abdominal Aortic Doppler Wave Pattern: An Early Sign of Arterial Wall Deterioration?

Many authors have found that diastolic retrograde arterial flow is associated with increased stiffness of the arterial wall. Most of the studies were based in femoral or brachial artery examination. As the abdominal aorta is a large vessel routinely explored in abdominal ultrasound scans, we decided to study whether it could be useful for early identification of abnormalities of the arterial wall. Sixteen young and 16 old, healthy patients matched for sex, weight and height were studied using pulsed Doppler at the level of the abdominal aortic bifurcation. Different hemodynamic factors were measured and compared to establish the systolic and diastolic function of this artery. Triphasic wave pattern was present in 14 of 16 patients in the younger group and only in 4 of 16 in the older group. In addition, diastolic retrograde arterial flow duration and retrograde components of diastolic phase were more prominent in the advanced age group. Increased retrograde flow and incapacity to impulse arterial flow forward during diastolic time are early markers of vascular wall deterioration that can be observed easily in the abdominal aorta during routine abdominal ultrasound scans.