Distribution of blood flow velocity in the normal aorta: Effect of age and gender

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 47; no. 2; pp. 487 - 498
• Main Authors: Garcia, Julio, van der Palen, Roel L.F., Bollache, Emilie, Jarvis, Kelly, Rose, Michael J., Barker, Alex J., Collins, Jeremy D., Carr, James C., Robinson, Joshua, Rigsby, Cynthia K., Markl, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.02.2018; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: 4D flow MRI; Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; aging; Aneurysms; Aorta; Aorta, Thoracic - diagnostic imaging; Aorta, Thoracic - physiology; Aortic valve; Blood flow; Blood Flow Velocity - physiology; Cardiovascular diseases; Child; Children; Coronary vessels; Covariance; Data analysis; Data processing; Disease control; Female; Flow distribution; Flow velocity; Gender; Heart rate; heart valve disease; Hemodynamics; Human health and pathology; Humans; Image processing; Image segmentation; Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods; Incidence; Kurtosis; Life Sciences; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; Sex Factors; Skewness; Standard deviation; Thorax; Three dimensional flow; Velocity distribution; Women; Young Adult; 4D flow MRI; aorta; aging; heart valve disease
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25773

Purpose To apply flow distribution analysis in the entire aorta across a wide age range from pediatric to adult subjects. Material and Methods In all, 98 healthy subjects (age 9–78 years, 41 women) underwent 4D flow MRI at 1.5T and 3T for the assessment of 3D blood flow in the thoracic aorta. Subjects were categorized into age groups: group 1 (n = 9, 5 women): 9–15 years; group 2 (n = 13, 8 women): 16–20 years; group 3 (n = 27, 14 women): 21–39 years; group 4 (n = 40, 11 women): 40–59 years; group 5 (n = 9, 3 women): >60 years. Data analysis included the 3D segmentation of the aorta, aortic valve peak velocity, mid‐ascending aortic diameter, and calculation of flow velocity distribution descriptors (mean, median, standard deviation, incidence of velocities >1 m/s, skewness, and kurtosis of aortic velocity magnitude). Ascending aortic diameter was normalized by body surface area. Results Age was significantly associated with normalized aortic diameter (R = 0.73, P < 0.001), skewness (R = 0.76, P < 0.001), and kurtosis (R = 0.74, P < 0.001), all adjusted by heart rate. Aortic peak velocity and velocity distribution descriptors, adjusted by heart rate, were significantly different between age groups (P < 0.001, analysis of covariance). Skewness and kurtosis significantly increased (P < 0.001) during adulthood (>40 years) as compared with childhood (<21 years). Men and women revealed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) for peak velocity, incidence, mean, median, standard deviation, and skewness, all adjusted by heart rate. Conclusion Aortic hemodynamics significantly change with age and gender, indicating the importance of age‐ and gender‐matched control cohorts for the assessment of the impact of cardiovascular disease on aortic blood flow. Level of Evidence: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 5 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:487–498.