Abstract #1259

Association Between Carotid Artery and Thoracic Aorta Plaque Burden in Patients with Neurovascular Symptoms: A 3.0T, Multiple Vascular Beds, Black-Blood Vessel Wall Imaging Study

Xihai Zhao¹, Huilin Zhao², Ye Cao², Jinnan Wang³, Niranjan Balu¹, Jianrong Xu², Chuan Yuan¹

¹Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; ²Radiology, Shanghai Renji hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; ³3. Philips Research North America, Briarcliff Manor, NY, United States

Atherosclerosis is a systemic disease frequently involving multiple vascular territories, such as carotid artery and thoracic aorta, which are related to cerebrovascular events. Thus, atherosclerotic disease in one vascular bed may be an indicator for the other vasculatures. This study sought to determine the association between carotid artery and thoracic aorta atherosclerosis using MR black-blood vessel wall imaging in 26 symptomatic patients. We found that carotid artery plaque burden, particularly on left side, was significantly associated with that of descending aorta. Our findings suggest that atherosclerotic disease in carotid artery may be an indicator of thoracic atheroma, or vice versa.