Hypertension Correlates With Lenticulostriate Arteries Visualized by 7T Magnetic Resonance Angiography

• Published in: Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. 1979) Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 1050 - 1056
• Main Authors: Kang, Chang-Ki, Park, Chan-A, Lee, Hyon, Kim, Sang-Hoon, Park, Cheol-Wan, Kim, Young-Bo, Cho, Zang-Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD American Heart Association, Inc 01.11.2009; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Basal Ganglia - blood supply; Basal Ganglia Cerebrovascular Disease - diagnosis; Basal Ganglia Cerebrovascular Disease - etiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Cardiology. Vascular system; Case-Control Studies; Cerebral Angiography - methods; Female; Humans; Hypertension - complications; Hypertension - diagnosis; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Magnetic Resonance Angiography - methods; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Observer Variation; Probability; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; Reference Values; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Smoking - adverse effects; Urinary system; Hypertension; 7T MRI; Cardiovascular disease; lenticulostriate arteries; NMR angiography; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; magnetic resonance angiography; microvessels
• ISSN: 0194-911X; 1524-4563
• DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.109.140350

Hypertension, a major risk factor for stroke, is associated with altered arterial anatomy and function; however, the limited resolution of current imaging techniques has restricted the in vivo study of microvascular changes in the brain. In this report, we quantitatively examined the lenticulostriate arteries in hypertensive patients using ultrahigh-field 7T MRI. We compared the number of stems and branches, curvature, and tortuosity of the lenticulostriate arteries by 3D time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography among 20 hypertensive patients (mean age46.6±9.1 years) and 20 age-matched healthy subjects (mean age47.7±8.1 years). The average numbers of stems and branches in hypertensive patients were significantly less than those of healthy subjects (P<0.002). However, this difference was abolished in older volunteers (>45 years old), whereas the difference between young hypertensive patients (≤45 years old) and age-matched healthy controls was augmented by 55% for stems and 91% for branches (P=0.001). In comparison, there were no differences in the average curvature and tortuosity of the lenticulostriate arteries and no significant difference when corrected for smoking (P=0.064). In conclusion, our results showed that there was a substantial difference in the lenticulostriate arteries of hypertensive patients compared with healthy individuals when observed in vivo by ultrahigh-resolution 7T magnetic resonance angiography, and the difference was considerable in young subjects.