AI Article Synopsis
- Carotid artery ultrasound is commonly used to evaluate atherosclerosis through measurements like intima-media thickness and blood flow velocity, but wall shear stress (WSS) has not been previously addressed.
- This study introduced vector flow mapping (VFM) to visualize blood flow and measure WSS in patients with cerebrovascular diseases.
- Results showed that higher age and intima-media thickness correlated with lower WSS, and WSS was noticeably higher upstream of plaques in the internal carotid artery, suggesting VFM Vascular may be a valuable tool for assessing atherosclerosis.
Article Abstract
Carotid artery ultrasound is extensively used to assess early- and late-stage atherosclerosis via the intima-media thickness and increased blood flow velocity caused by stenosis, respectively. However, the effect of wall shear stress (WSS) has not been considered to date. This study aimed to visualize the blood flow of carotid arteries and measured WSS using vector flow mapping (VFM) developed specifically for vascular use. Patients with cerebrovascular diseases were prospectively enrolled and examined with carotid ultrasound using VFM Vascular. WSS was calculated in the common carotid artery and internal carotid artery. Blood flow in 82 common carotid arteries was visualized with VFM Vascular. The maximum and mean WSSs were negatively correlated with age and intima-media thickness. The WSS in 16 internal carotid artery plaques was significantly higher upstream of the plaque than downstream. Therefore, VFM Vascular is a promising method that provides a novel indicator of atherosclerosis.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2020.06.018 | DOI Listing |
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