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Changes in blood flow velocity in the middle and anterior cerebral arteries evoked by walking
Author(s) -
Nedeltchev Krassen,
Arnold Marcel,
Nirkko Arto,
Sturzenegger Mathias,
Rihs Frank,
Bühler Robert,
Mattle Heinrich P.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.10047
Subject(s) - medicine , middle cerebral artery , transcranial doppler , cerebral arteries , cerebral blood flow , cardiology , paresis , blood flow , treadmill , anterior cerebral artery , anesthesia , surgery , ischemia
Purpose Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) is an established method for assessing changes in blood flow velocity (BFV) coupled to brain activity. Our objective was to investigate whether walking induces measurable changes in BFV in healthy subjects. Methods Changes in BFV in both middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) of 40 healthy adult subjects during walking on a treadmill were measured using bilateral TCD. In 8 of the 40 subjects, 1 anterior cerebral artery (ACA) was monitored simultaneously with the contralateral MCA. The percentage increase in BFV (BFVI%) compared with the baseline velocity (V 0 ), the percentage decrease in BFV (BFVD%) compared with the V 0 , and the normalized ACA‐MCA ratio were analyzed. Results The overall mean (± standard deviation [SD]) V 0 was 59.9 ± 11.6 cm/second in the left MCA and 60.1 ± 12.9 cm/second in the right MCA. Women had higher V 0 values than men had. Walking evoked an initial mean overall BFVI% in both left (8.4 ± 5.1%) and right MCAs (9.1 ± 5.1%), followed by a decrease to below baseline values in 38 of 40 subjects. A statistically significant increase of the normalized ACA‐MCA ratio was measured, indicating that changes in BFV in the ACA territory were coupled to brain activation during walking. Conclusions The use of functional TCD showed different changes in BFV in the ACAs and MCAs during walking. This method may be an interesting tool for monitoring progress in patients with motor deficits of the legs, such as paresis. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 30:132–138, 2002; DOI 10.1002/jcu.10047