Correlation Between Plaque Eccentricity and Vessel Remodeling in the Human Femoral Artery: A Morphology Investigation by High Resolution MRI

Feiyu Li¹, Mary McGrae McDermott², Marina Ferguson¹, Dongxiang Xu¹, Xihai Zhao¹, Chun Yuan¹

The results from coronary artery studies showed arterial remodeling and plaque eccentricity were two important markers of atherosclerotic plaque burden and subsequent cardiovascular events. The occurrence of coronary expansive remodeling was found associated with eccentric lesions. But few studies focused on peripheral artery disease. The aim of this study is to investigate atherosclerotic vessel wall morphology in femoral artery, in particular lesion eccentricity and remodeling and their relationships using high resolution MRI. The results demonstrated eccentric disease occurred more frequently in atherosclerotic femoral artery as compared to concentric and concentric morphology was more common in positive remodeling lesions than in negative.