Abstract
In the ascending aorta, atherosclerotic plaque
formation, which is a risk factor for cerebrovascular events, most
often occurs along the inner curvature. Atherosclerosis is a
multifactorial disease, but the predilection site for the aortic
vessel degradation is probably flow dependent. To better
understand the aortic flow and especially the complex flow
patterns, the ascending aorta was scanned intraoperatively in
patients undergoing heart surgery using the angle-independent
vector velocity ultrasound method Transverse Oscillation (TO).
The primary aim of the study was to analyze systolic backflow in
relation to atherosclerosis. Thirteen patients with normal aortic
valves were included in to the study. TO implemented on a
conventional US scanner (ProFocus 2202 UltraView, BK
Medical, Herlev, Denmark) with a linear array transducer (8670,
BK Medical, Herlev, Denmark) was used intraoperatively on the
ascending aorta in long axis view. The presence of systolic
backflow, visualized with TO, was correlated to aortic
atherosclerosis, to systolic velocities obtained with
transesophageal echocardiography and cardiac output obtained
with pulmonary artery catheter thermodilution, to gender, age,
aortic diameter, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and
previous myocardial infarctions (MI). Systolic backflow in the
ascending aorta was present for 38% (n=5) of the patients. The
location of the backflow was strongly associated to the location of
the plaques (p<0.005), and backflow was associated to high
systolic velocities (p<0.05). The other obtained parameters were
not associated to systolic backflow. It was shown that systolic
backflow is a common flow feature in the ascending aorta, and
that backflow is associated to atherosclerotic plaques and systolic
velocities. The study indicates that vector flow imaging using TO
can provide important blood flow information in the assessment
of atherosclerosis.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of 2015 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium |
Number of pages | 4 |
Publisher | IEEE |
Publication date | 2015 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-1-4799-8182-3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Event | 2015 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium - Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China Duration: 21 Oct 2015 → 24 Oct 2015 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome/7315052/proceeding |
Conference
Conference | 2015 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium |
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Country/Territory | Taiwan, Province of China |
City | Taipei |
Period | 21/10/2015 → 24/10/2015 |
Internet address |
Keywords
- Vector velocity imaging
- Transverse Oscillation
- Ascending aorta
- Systolic backflow
- Atherosclerosis