Characterization of atherosclerotic disease in thoracic aorta: A 3D, multicontrast vessel wall imaging study

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• 作者：Changwu Zhou ; MD^a ; ^b ; Huiyu Qiao ; BS^a ; Le He ; MD^a ; Chun Yuan ; PhD^a ; ^c ; Huijun Chen ; PhD^a ; Qiang Zhang ; BS^a ; Rui Li ; PhD^a ; Wei Wang ; MD^b ; Fang Du ; MD^b ; Cheng Li ; MD^d ; ¹ ; ^{cjr.licheng@vip.163.com" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Xihai Zhao ; MD ; PhD^a ; ¹ ; ^{xihaizhao@tsinghua.edu.cn" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author}
• 关键词：Thoracic aorta ; Vessel wall ; Atherosclerosis ; Vulnerable plaque ; Magnetic resonance imaging
• 刊名：European Journal of Radiology
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：November 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：85
• 期：11
• 页码：2030-2035
• 全文大小：983 K

文摘

To investigate the characteristics of plaque in the thoracic aorta using three dimensional multicontrast magnetic resonance imaging.

Materials and methods

Elderly subjects (≥60 years) were recruited in this study. Thoracic aorta was imaged on a 3.0T MR scanner by acquiring multicontrast sequences. The plaque burden was evaluated by measuring lumen area, wall area, wall thickness, and normalized wall index. The presence or absence of plaque and intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH)/mural thrombus (MT) were identified. The characteristics of atherosclerosis among different thoracic aorta segments (AAO: ascending aorta; AOA: aortic arch, and DOA: descending aorta) were determined.

Results

Of 66 recruited subjects (mean age 72.3 ± 6.2 years, 30 males), 55 (83.3%) had plaques in the thoracic aorta. The prevalence of plaque in AAO, AOA, and DAO was 5.4%, 72.7%, and 71.2%, respectively. In addition, 21.2% of subjects were found to have lesions with IPH/MT in the thoracic aorta. The prevalence of IPH/MT in segment of AAO, AOA and DAO was 0%, 13.6%, and 12.1%, respectively. The aortic wall showed the highest NWI in DAO (34.1% ± 4.8%), followed by AOA (31.2% ± 5%), and AAO (26.8% ± 3.3%) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Three dimensional multicontrast MR imaging is capable of characterizing atherosclerotic plaques in the thoracic aorta. The findings of high prevalence of plaques and the presence of high risk plaques in the thoracic aorta suggest early screening for aortic vulnerable lesions in the elderly.