Carotid Body Size and Relationship to Left Atrial Strain & Aortic Waveforms

AimThis study aimed to investigate the effect of carotid body size on target organ damage in patients with hypertension and its potential association with relevant parameters. MethodA total of 49 participants diagnosed with hypertension or newly diagnosed hypertension, who were admitted to the outpatient clinic between January 2023 and April 2024, were included in the study. The size of the carotid body was measured using computed tomography. The study population was categorized into two groups based on a carotid body size threshold of 2.5 mm. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed, and blood pressure measurements and pulse wave analyses were examined non-invasively. ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 54.93 {+/-} 10.85 years, and 36.7% (n=18) were male. In the group with a larger carotid body size, the left atrial diameter, total vascular resistance, and pulse-adjusted augmentation index (AIx@75) were higher, while the left atrial strain values and cardiac index were lower compared to those in the group with a smaller carotid body size (p <0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis and ROC analysis were performed to determine the parameters that were significantly associated with carotid body size, and it was revealed that left atrial diameter (AUC: 0.794 (0.667-0.920), p<0.001) and total vascular resistance (AUC: 0.819 (0.700-0.938), p<0.001) were independently associated with carotid body size. ConclusionThis study suggests that processes leading to carotid body enlargement or those caused by this enlargement in patients diagnosed with hypertension, may affect parameters such as left atrial diameter, left atrial strain, AIx, and total vascular resistance, which could serve as indicators of target organ damage.