Differences In Velocity Profiles Between Young And Elderly Healthy Volunteers Affect Wall Shear Stress Assessment In The Internal Carotid Artery; A Study With Velocity Encoded Mri

Previous ultrasound studies have demonstrated that Wall Shear Stress (WSS) in the internal carotid artery (ICA), assessed by applying the assumption of a parabolic velocity profile, decreases with age. Blood velocity profiles measured with MRI were significant different between healthy young (age 26.7 +/- 7.1 years) and healthy elderly (age 73.9 +/- 2.8 years) volunteers. Due to these deviations it can be expected that the actual decay of WSS with age is faster than was measured by techniques based on the assumption of a parabolic velocity profile.