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Population-based reference values for 4D flow MRI derived aortic blood flow parameters

Marie Schafstedde1,2,3,4, Lina Jarmatz1, Jan Brüning1,4

  • 1Institute of Congenital Heart Disease, German Heart Center Charité, Berlin, Germany.

Physiological Measurement
|February 3, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Older individuals exhibit distinct thoracic aorta blood flow patterns, with higher normalized flow displacement and angle, and lower wall parallelism and area. These findings establish age- and sex-specific reference values for 4D flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) analysis.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Age-related changes in cardiovascular health are significant.
  • Understanding thoracic aorta hemodynamics is crucial for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases.
  • 4D flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) offers advanced insights into blood flow dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-related variations in thoracic aorta blood flow profiles.
  • To establish age- and sex-specific reference values for thoracic aorta hemodynamics using 4D flow CMR.
  • To correlate blood flow parameters with aortic geometry.

Main Methods:

  • 126 healthy volunteers (aged 20-80 years, 51% female) underwent 4D flow CMR.
  • 12 analysis planes in the thoracic aorta were defined for quantitative assessment.
  • Key parameters evaluated included normalized flow displacement (NFD), wall parallelism (WPD), and flow angles (α).

Main Results:

  • Significant age-related differences were observed in the ascending aorta.
  • Older subjects showed increased NFD and flow angles, and decreased WPD and A80.
  • Blood flow parameters correlated with the cross-sectional aortic area; no significant sex differences were found.

Conclusions:

  • Age influences thoracic aorta blood flow patterns, particularly in the ascending aorta.
  • The study provides novel age- and sex-specific reference values for 4D flow CMR analysis.
  • These reference values may aid in future clinical studies of aortic flow profiles.

Keywords:
4D flow MRIaortablood flowcardiovascular magnetic resonancehemodynamicspopulationreference values

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