Doppler ultrasonography of the ophthalmic artery in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a new approach

Abstract

Background The vascular endothelium has specific estrogen receptors and the impact of hormone therapy (HT) on circulation is associated with cardiovascular protection in perimenopause and postmenopause. Blood vessels can be assessed by ultrasound Doppler velocimetry, and more specifically the study of the ophthalmic artery (OA) can be used for brain vessel assessment; more recently, it is a possible method for cardiovascular risk assessment. Methods A cross-sectional study involved perimenopausal and postmenopausal women divided into three groups: 60 non-HT users (control group), 23 users of estrogen therapy (ET group), and 23 users of estrogen–progesterone therapy (EPT group). Doppler velocimetry of the OA was performed with analysis of the resistance index (RI), pulsatility index (PI), systolic peak velocity (P1), second systolic peak velocity (P2), peak velocity ratio (PVR), final diastolic velocity (FDV), and ratio between means of systolic and diastolic velocity (SDR). Results There was no significant difference between the groups in Doppler velocimetry indices of the OA: RI (p = 0.94), PI (p = 0.85), P1 (p = 0.81), P2 (p = 0.53), PVR (p = 0.41), FDV (p = 0.76), and SDR (p = 0.84). We observed a positive correlation of the SDR with age only in the control group (r = 0.34, p = 0.01). Conclusions There is a positive correlation between the SDR and age in the control group. Therefore, this new index is a promising instrument in the non-invasive assessment of cardiovascular risk.