The prevalence and quantification of atherosclerosis in an elderly population assessed by whole-body magnetic resonance angiography.
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.


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 > or = 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 > or = 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.
Hansen
T
T
Institution of ORKI, Department of Radiology, Uppsala University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. tomas.hansen@akademiska.se
Wikström
J
J
Johansson
L O
LO
Lind
L
L
Ahlström
H
H
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D015995:Prevalence; D011336:Probability; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D051598:Whole Body Imaging