Wall Shear Stress Distribution in Carotid Artery Stenosis: Changes Pre- And Post-Intervention by Carotid Endarterectomy

Michael Markl¹, Sebastian Berg², Alex J. Barker¹, J Schllhorn², Martin Schumacher², Cornelius Weiller², Andreas Harloff²

Low wall shear stress (WSS) and high oscillatory shear index (OSI) have been linked to the development of atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of carotid endarterectomy on the in-vivo WSS and OSI distribution in the carotid bifurcation. In 20 patients, 4D flow MRI was able to selectively quantify regional 3D hemodynamics in patients before and after intervention for high-grade ICA stenosis. Plaque removals lead to significant reductions of WSS and OSI in the ICA while wall parameters in the CCA and ECA remained largely unchanged demonstrating a localized impact of endarterectomy on carotid hemodynamics.