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

Abstract

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 Ն50% 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 Ͻ50%, and the remainder had stenoses Ն50% or occlusions. Six subjects (2%) had aortic aneurysms. In subjects without evident vascular disease, 26% had significant vascular abnormalities. Conclusions

A total atherosclerotic score for whole-body MRA and its relation to traditional cardiovascular risk factors

“…One radiologist with 3 years' experience evaluated all WBMRA examinations blinded to other information. The intra-and inter-observer agreement has previously been reported using this method, ranging from good to excellent with kappa values of 0.73 and 0.83, respectively [3].…”

“…intravascular US of the coronary vessels or digital subtraction angiography (DSA) of vessels of a limited region, the availability of whole-body MRA (WBMRA) provides a opportunity to simultaneously estimate the total amount of stenotic vascular disease in different vascular territories as well as the total body atherosclerotic burden with the exclusion of the coronary and intracranial vessels. The results for the vessel segments of the WBMRA examinations using this population have been reported previously [3]. In a study based on patients with suspected coronary disease, a atherosclerosis index as revealed by WBMRA were related to coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS) [4].…”

Lower extremity artery stenosis distribution in an unselected elderly population and its relation to a reduced ankle-brachial index

“…The prevalence of atherosclerotic changes in different vessel territories in this cohort have been reported previously. 9 Exclusion criteria for the WB-MRA examination were a pacemaker, valvular prostheses, intracranial clips, and claustrophobia. Of the included participants, 306 could complete the WBMRA examination.…”

Plasma–Parathyroid Hormone Is Associated With Subclinical and Clinical Atherosclerotic Disease in 2 Community-Based Cohorts

“…16,17 As a second step, we studied the prospective association between PTH and the risk of peripheral and large vessel atherosclerotic disease in an independent community-based sample of elderly men.…”