Li Jiang1,
Huijun Chen1, Xu Han2, Zhensen Chen1, Rui Li1,
Le He1, Chun Yuan1, 3, Xihai Zhao1
1Center
for Biomedical Imaging Research & Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; 2Department of Radiology, PLA
General Hospital, Beijing, China; 3Department of Radiology,
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
Wall compliance, as a systemic biomechanical characteristic of degeneration of vessel wall, has been demonstrated to be associated with atherosclerosis disease risk. In this study, we investigated the correlation of wall compliance between carotid artery and abdominal aorta and its role in assessment of severity of carotid atherosclerosis. We found that compliance of carotid artery differed from abdominal aorta and was associated with abdominal aorta compliance as well as carotid atherosclerotic plaque burden. Our findings indicate that arterial compliance in one vascular bed might be an indicator for other vascular biomechanical characteristics and severity of atherosclerotic disease.