HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free All Versions of this Article: 101/5/1412    most recent 00051.2006v1 Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wood, N. B. Articles by Xu, X. Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wood, N. B. Articles by Xu, X. Y.

Curvature and tortuosity of the superficial femoral artery: a possible risk factor for peripheral arterial disease

¹Chemical Engineering and ²National Heart and Lung Institute Division, International Centre for Circulatory Health, Imperial College London; and ³Department of Radiology, St. Mary's Hospital National Health Service Trust, London, UK

Submitted 18 January 2006 ; accepted in final form 20 June 2006

Atherosclerosis in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) resulting in peripheral arterial disease is more common in men than women and shows a predilection for the region of the adductor canal. Blood flow patterns are related to development of atherosclerosis, and we investigated if curvature and tortuosity of the femoral artery differed between young men and women and if differences resulted in adverse flow patterns. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were combined in 18 young adult volunteers (9 men) to assess the relationship of flow features to likely sites of future atherosclerosis formation. Subjects underwent MRI of the right SFA, three-dimensional vascular geometry was reconstructed, and measures of tortuosity and curvature were calculated. Tortuosity and curvature were significantly greater for men than women, and this was related to increased body surface area, body mass index, or weight in men. In both sexes, "tortuosity" increased from the midthigh to the popliteal fossa. The greatest curvature was found within the distal quarter of the SFA. CFD modeling was undertaken on MRI-based reconstructions of the SFA. Wall shear stresses (WSS) were extracted from the computations. WSS showed greater spatial variation in the men than in the women, and the men exhibited lower mean WSS. These data indicate that sex differences related to body size and anatomical course of the femoral artery may contribute to the enhanced risk of focal atherosclerosis in the adductor canal.

magnetic resonance imaging; tortuosity; wall shear stress; peripheral vascular disease

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. C. Newcomer, C. L. Sauder, N. T. Kuipers, M. H. Laughlin, and C. A. Ray Effects of posture on shear rates in human brachial and superficial femoral arteries Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, April 1, 2008; 294(4): H1833 - H1839. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]