Aortic invovement in fibromuscular dysplasia. 3-dimensional CT, case-control study. THE ARCADIA-POL BIS study

Abstract Background Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is a non-atherosclerotic arterial disease that manifests as the presence of beaded or focal lesions in medium or small-sized arteries and may also include arterial dissection, aneurysm, and tortuosity. FMD could be revealed in various manifestations, however limited data on the involvement of the thoracic aorta is reported. Purpose To measure and evaluate involvement of thoracic aorta in patients with FMD. Methods We analysed aortas of 144 consecutive patients (mean age 50.2±14.0, 116 women) with confirmed FMD in at least one vascular bed. The control group consisted of 144 (mean age 50.5±14.0, 116 women) age and sex matched individuals. All patients underwent detailed clinical evaluation including angio-CT scan including aortic valve, thoracic aorta and coronary arteries. We measured the aortic valve annulus, sinus of valsalva, sinotubular junction, the diameters of ascending and descending aorta, aortic unfolding, the height of ostium of RCA and LCA and diameter of right and left coronary artery ostia in patients with fibromuscular dysplasia and compared them to matched controls. Results The FMD group had significantly smaller dimensions of aortic valve annulus and sinus of Valsalva than control group (2.3 [2.1–2.6] vs 2.9 [2.7–3.1] p