title: Site-specific association between distal aortic pulse wave velocity and peripheral arterial stenosis severity: a prospective cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vascular disease expression in one location may not be representative for disease severity in other vascular territories, however, strong correlation between disease expression and severity within the same vascular segment may be expected. Therefore, we hypothesized that aortic stiffening is more strongly associated with disease expression in a vascular territory directly linked to that aortic segment rather than in a more remote segment. We prospectively compared the association between aortic wall stiffness, expressed by pulse wave velocity (PWV), sampled in the distal aorta, with the severity of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) as compared to atherosclerotic markers sampled in remote vascular territories such as PWV in the proximal aorta and the normalized wall index (NWI), representing the vessel wall thickness, of the left common carotid artery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-two patients (23 men; mean age 64±10 years) underwent velocity-encoded cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the proximal and distal aorta, whole-body contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) and carotid vessel wall imaging with black-blood CMR in the work-up for PAOD. Strength of associations between aortic stiffness, carotid NWI and peripheral vascular stenosis grade were assessed and evaluated with multiple linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stenosis severity correlated well with PWV in the distal aorta (Pearson rP=0.64, p<0.001, Spearman rS=0.65, p<0.001) but to a lesser extent with PWV in the proximal aorta (rP=0.48, p=0.002, rS=0.22, p=0.18). Carotid NWI was not associated with peripheral stenosis severity (rP=0.17, p=0.28, rS=0.14, p=0.37) nor with PWV in the proximal aorta (rP=0.22, p=0.17) nor in the distal aorta (rP=0.21, p=0.18). Correlation between stenosis severity and distal aortic PWV remained statistically significant after correction for age and gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Distal aortic wall stiffness is more directly related to peripheral arterial stenosis severity than markers from more remote vascular territories such as proximal aortic wall stiffness or carotid arterial wall thickness. Site-specific evaluation of vascular disease may be required for full vascular risk estimation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Catharina Hospital, Michelangelolaan 2, Eindhoven, The Netherlands. harrie.vd.bosch@cze.nl.
authors.forename: Harrie C M
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: van den Bosch
authors.forename: Jos J M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Westenberg
authors.forename: Wikke
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Setz-Pels
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wondergem
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wolterbeek
authors.forename: Lucien E M
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Duijm
authors.forename: Joep A W
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Teijink
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Roos
mesh_terms: D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology; D051598:Whole Body Imaging