Forsblad-d’Elia H, Law L, Bengtsson K, et al. - This study was attempted to explore common carotid artery (CCA) biomechanical properties using ultrasound to calculate β stiffness index (indicating arterial stiffness) and, a more recently developed technique, 2-dimensional (2D) speckle-tracking strain (indicating arterial motion and deformation, strain) to compare with age- and sex-matched controls, and examine relationships between strain and stiffness with disease characteristics and traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with AS. Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study including a total of 149 patients with AS, mean age 55.3 ± 11.2 years, 102 (68.5%) men, and 146 (98%) HLA-B27–positive. They evaluated bilateral CCA for circumferential 2D strain and β stiffness index. They compared a subgroup of 46 patients with 46 age- and gender-matched controls, both groups without the hypertensive disease, diabetes, myocardial infarction, or stroke. According to the findings, both CCA circumferential 2D strain and β stiffness index differed between patients with AS and controls. It was shown that strain was correlated with AS-related factors and age, whereas only age was correlated with stiffness, implying that the obtained results reflect different pathogenic vascular processes.