Age-related and vasomotor stimuli-induced changes in renal vascular resistance detected by Doppler ultrasound

Indirect measurement of renal vascular resistance by duplex Doppler waveform analysis was evaluated in relation to aging and some pathophysiological conditions. Baseline renal resistive index (RRI) (peak systolic frequency shift — lowest diastolic frequency shift/peak systolic frequency shift) was measured in healthy controls aged 20 to 85 years by analyzing the blood flow velocity waveform of interlobar arteries. RRI changes induced by sympathetic activation (cold pressor test and handgrip test) or by fluid load were evaluated. Both repeatability and reproducibility were very good, as the intra- and interoperator variations were all less than their reproducibility coefficients. RRI showed a significant increase with aging (ANOVA P< .001), particularly evident in subjects older than 50 years. Both the cold pressor test and handgrip test induced in all the subjects (n = 16) a significant increase in RRI (P< .001), from 0.59 ± 0.04 to 0.69 ±0.04 (12 ± 6%) for the cold pressor test and from 0.57 ± 0.03 to 0.66 ± 0.03 (15 ± 2%) for the handgrip test. In eight subjects intravenous fluid load (0.25 mL/kg/min of 0.9% NaCl for 120 min) caused a significant decrease in RRI (P< .001) from 0.62 ± 0.02 to 0.53 ± 0.01 (17 ± 2%), which was inversely related to mean blood pressure rise (r = −0.71, P< .001). These data show that pulsed wave Doppler analysis is an accurate method for an indirect evaluation of changes in renal vascular resistance induced by common vasomotor stimuli.