Estimation of Local Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity in a Single Heartbeat

Michael C. Langham¹, Jeremy Magland¹, Felix W. Wehrli¹

At the early systolic phase it is assumed that the pulse wave is unidirectional and reflectionless. From this assumption pulse wave velocity (PWV) can be can be expressed as PWV = δQ/δA, where δQ and δA represent temporal changes in the blood flow rate and cross-sectional area of the aorta. We present an MRI technique unaffected by irregular heart rhythm (which is normal) since PWV is estimated during a single heartbeat. The derived PWV = 2.5 m/s, which is somewhat lower than those found in literature for a healthy subject. Sources of error are deviations of aortic circularity.