Análise das ondas doppler de vasos periféricos na detecção de cardiopatias em idosos

Abstract

Introduction: heart disease can cause changes in the Doppler waveforms in peripheral blood vessels. These changes are typically bilateral, systemic, and they are little known and studied. Objective: this paper examines the peripheral Doppler waveforms of elderly patients in order to identify changes resulting from heart disease. Methods: the study involved 183 elderly patients who underwent peripheral vascular ultrasound in 2014. Out of these 102 were women (55.7%) and 81 men (44.3%). The average age was 70.4 (± 7.2) years, ranging from 60 to 91 years old. The patients were divided into two groups: an outpatient group (133 patients) and a hospitalized group (50 patients). Results: changes in the peripheral Doppler waveform were found in 84 patients (45.9%): 54 patients (40.6%) in the outpatient group and 30 patients (60%) in the hospitalized group. The 138 changes found were of eight of the twelve type of possible changes described in the literature: arrhythmia, 38 cases (27.5%); pulse wave bisferiens, 24 cases (17.4%); low systolic peak, 22 cases (15.9% ); pulsatility in femoral veins, 21 cases (15.2%); bradycardia, 11 cases (7.9%); tachycardia, 9 cases (6.5%); parvus tardus pulse wave, 7 cases (5.0%); and pulse alternans wave, 6 cases (4.3%). Conclusion: this study shows that it is possible to identify certain heart changes in the elderly through the analysis of the format of peripheral Doppler waveforms. It is important to detect and to report these changes, as they can serve as an early warning sign for heart disease.