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The Prevalence and Quantification of Atherosclerosis in an Elderly Population Assessed by Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Angiography

2006; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 27; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1161/01.atv.0000255310.47940.3b

1524-4636

Tomas Hansen, Johan Wikström, L. Johansson, Lars Lind, Håkan Åhlström,

Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention

Objective— The principal aim of the present study was to explore the feasibility of using whole-body magnetic resonance angiography to assess atherosclerosis in different vascular territories in a cohort of elderly. Methods and Results— Three hundred six 70-year-old subjects (145 women, 161 men) recruited from a population-based cohort study (Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors, ie, the PIVUS study) underwent 1.5-T whole-body magnetic resonance angiography with gadodiamide. The arteries were divided into 26 segments. In total, 7956 vessel segments were evaluated with 7900 segments (99.3%) possible to evaluate. Of these, 7186 segments (91%) were normal. Luminal narrowing of ≥50% was observed in 9 (1.5%) of the renal arteries, 12 (1.8%) of the carotid arteries, in 31 segments (1.1%) of the pelvic/upper leg territories, and in 136 segments (6.2%) of territories in the lower leg. Approximately one-third of the sample had no vascular abnormalities, one-third had stenoses of <50%, and the remainder had stenoses ≥50% or occlusions. Six subjects (2%) had aortic aneurysms. In subjects without evident vascular disease, 26% had significant vascular abnormalities. Conclusions— Whole-body magnetic resonance angiography performed with a clinical scanner can be used for quantifying atherosclerosis in different vascular territories in a single examination in an elderly population.