Lennart Geurts1, Alex Bhogal1, Jeroen C.W. Siero1, Peter R. Luijten1, and Jaco J.M. Zwanenburg1
An
increased blood flow pulsatility index in large cerebral arteries is a
prognostic factor in stroke and has been linked to small vessel disease. Along
with increased pulsatility, these patients show decreased hypercapnia induced cerebrovascular
reactivity. We hypothesize that dilated vessels lose their ability to stretch
and passively dampen the pulse pressure wave. The aim of this study was to shed
light on how autoregulation influences the damping of the pulse pressure wave in
small vessels. Our approach was to measure blood flow velocity and pulsatility
changes in the perforating arteries of the white matter, during a hypercapnic
breathing challenge.
