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Plaques in the descending aorta: A new risk factor for stroke? Visualization of potential embolization pathways by 4D MRI
Author(s) -
Harloff Andreas,
Strecker Christoph,
Frydrychowicz Alex P.,
Dudler Patrick,
Hetzel Andreas,
Geibel Annette,
Kollum Marc,
Weiller Cornelius,
Hennig Jürgen,
Markl Michael
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.21126
Subject(s) - descending aorta , medicine , aorta , magnetic resonance imaging , embolization , atheroma , stroke (engine) , radiology , hemodynamics , ischemia , cardiology , mechanical engineering , engineering
The combination of morphologic and hemodynamic information can help in assessing the risk of embolic stroke associated with thrombi and plaques in the descending aorta. For two acute stroke patients, the determination of individual embolic pathways using flow‐sensitive four‐dimensional (4D) MRI are reported. 3D visualization of local flow patterns, i.e., retrograde flow channels originating at the site of the atheroma, in conjunction with exact plaque localization, suggested potential embolization of high‐risk plaques in the descending aorta although they are located downstream from the supraaortic arteries. Our findings indicate that taking plaques of the descending aorta into consideration may help improve the spectrum of pathologies considered as high‐risk sources for brain ischemia. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.