Aortic compliance in healthy subjects: evaluation of tissue Doppler imaging.

Increased compliance of abdominal aortic aneurysms at maximum diameter over time might be related to rupture. Compliance could, therefore, be valuable in their management. However, such measurement requires a sophisticated system. An original arterial wall-motion measurement technique, based on tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and providing segmental exploration, was applied to the study of aorta walls. We report its validation in healthy subjects. Technical feasibility was reliable. The time required for sequence acquisition and transfer was suitable for routine clinical use and the quality of the sequences provided precise identification of the aorta wall/lumen interface and accurate segmentation. The values characterising normal aortic compliance were similar to those previously published, and the initial results concerning reproducibility were appropriate for clinical studies. Further refinements may improve it. This study validates the TDI system for measurement of abdominal aortic compliance in healthy subjects. Study of application to aneurysm compliance is in progress.