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Analysis of pulse wave velocity in the thoracic aorta by flow‐sensitive four‐dimensional MRI: Reproducibility and correlation with characteristics in patients with aortic atherosclerosis
Author(s) -
Markl Michael,
Wallis Wolf,
Strecker Christoph,
Gladstone Beryl Primrose,
Vach Werner,
Harloff Andreas
Publication year - 2012
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.22856
Subject(s) - reproducibility , pulse wave velocity , medicine , aorta , pulse (music) , thoracic aorta , cardiology , radiology , nuclear magnetic resonance , biomedical engineering , physics , mathematics , statistics , optics , detector , blood pressure
Purpose: To measure aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) using flow‐sensitive four‐dimensional (4D) MRI and to evaluate test–retest reliability, inter‐ and intra‐observer variability in volunteers and correlation with characteristics in patients with aortic atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: Flow‐sensitive 4D MRI was performed in 12 volunteers (24 ± 3 years) and 86 acute stroke patients (68 ± 9 years) with aortic atherosclerosis. Retrospectively positioned 28 ± 4 analysis planes along the entire aorta (inter‐slice‐distance = 10 mm) and frame wise lumen segmentation yielded flow‐time‐curves for each plane. Global aortic PWV was calculated from time‐shifts and distances between the upslope portions of all available flow‐time curves. Results: Inter‐ and intra‐observer variability of PWV measurements in volunteers (7% and 8%) was low while test–retest reliability (22%) was moderate. PWV in patients was significantly higher compared with volunteers (5.8 ± 2.9 versus 3.8 ± 0.8 m/s; P = 0.02). Among 17 patient characteristics considered, statistical analysis revealed significant ( P < 0.05) but low correlation of PWV with age ( r = 0.25), aortic valve insufficiency ( r = 0.29), and pulse pressure ( r = 0.28). Multivariate modeling indicated that aortic valve insufficiency and elevated pulse pressure were significantly associated with higher PWV (adjusted R 2 = 0.13). Conclusion: Flow‐sensitive 4D MRI allows for estimating aortic PWV with low observer dependence and moderate test–retest reliability. PWV in patients correlated with age, aortic valve insufficiency, and pulse pressure. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2012;35:1162‐1168. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.