Assessing Impact of High-Dose Pitavastatin on Carotid Artery Elasticity with Speckle-Tracking Imaging

Abstract

Background: Two-dimensional speckle-tracking strain imaging has been introduced for the precise assessment of arterial mechanics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of pitavastatin on carotid artery elasticity measured by speckle tracking methods. Methods: This study included 30 statin-naïve patients (age, 61.6 ± 7.6 years

26.7% male) with hypercholesterolemia. Circumferential carotid artery strain (CAS) was measured using speckle-tracking imaging before and after 3 months of high-dose pitavastatin treatment (4 mg daily). Results: After 3 months, circumferential CAS was significantly increased compared to baseline (from 2.73 ± 1.17% to 3.27 ± 1.53%, p = 0.029). Among conventional carotid elasticity metrics, strain measured by B-mode improved significantly after statin therapy. No significant change in carotid intima-media thickness was observed after pitavastatin treatment (from 0.73 ± 0.18 to 0.71 ± 0.16 mm, p = 0.913). Conclusions: Short-term treatment with high-dose pitavastatin improved carotid artery elasticity measured by speckle-tracking methods. These speckle-tracking imaging-based measurements may allow the early noninvasive assessment of favorable effects of medical intervention in patients with hypercholesterolemia.