In Vivo Measurement of Local Pulse-Wave Velocity in the Right Common Carotid Artery in Mice with PC-Cine-MRI at 17.6 T

Volker Herold¹, Alexander Gotschy¹, Christian Herbert Ziener¹, Eberhard Rommel¹, Wolfgang Rudolf Bauer², Peter Michael Jakob¹

Pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is an important parameter for the evaluation of the arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk. Several diseases such as hypertension and arteriosclerosis are associated with vascular remodeling and arterial stiffening. Mouse models are increasingly used to investigate functional cardiovascular parameters. MRI methods yet only have been used to quantify PWV in the murine aorta. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of high field MR microscopy to quantify local pulse wave velocity in the common right carotid artery.