Doppler sonography evaluation of flow velocity and volume of the extracranial internal carotid and vertebral arteries in healthy adults

Abstract

Purpose. To measure with Doppler sonography the velocity and volume of blood flow in the extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA) of healthy adults and to calculate total cerebral blood flow volume (tCBFV).Methods. Bilateral ICA and VA were examined sonographically in 180 healthy adults. Angle-corrected peak systolic (Vps), end-diastolic (Ved), and time-averaged maximum blood flow velocity (TAV) were measured in pulsed Doppler mode, and the resistance index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI) were calculated. The cross-sectional area (A) was measured on gray-scale images. Volume flow was calculated as FV ¼ TAV Â A, and tCBFV was calculated as the sum of the right and left ICA and VA volume flow.Results. tCBFV was 651 6 96 ml/min for the entire population. There was a significant decrease in Vps, Ved, TAV, and tCBFV with age in all arteries. RI and PI values initially declined and then increased with age. Cross-sectional area increased with age in ICA but not in VA. PI and RI were higher in men than in women. Blood flow velocity and volume were higher, and RI was lower in the left than in the right VA.Conclusion. The Doppler sonographic assessment of extracranial ICA and VA blood flow volume may be useful for the study of cerebral hemodynamic changes in patients with cerebrovascular disorders. Age-dependent changes should be considered, for instance, in the management of intensive care patients with impaired cerebral perfusion. V V C 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Attenuation of Blood Flow Pulsatility along the Atlas Slope: A Physiologic Property of the Distal Vertebral Artery?

“…The acquired values of blood velocity, PI, and RI are in good accordance with Doppler sonography measurements reported in the literature. 29 In the present study, a 2D-PC sequence with multidirectional velocity-encoding and high spatial resolution was chosen to accurately capture blood flow of both vertebral arteries within a single measurement. A lower temporal resolution was taken into account to achieve this.…”

Increased cerebrovascular resistance after retrograde cerebral perfusion: A Doppler study

“…As the PI and RI are known to reflect resistance distal to the measurement point (14,15), results indicated that DHCA with RCP, but not regular CPB without DHCA, increases the resistance of cerebral vessels distal to the ICA.…”

“…The peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), and mean velocity (MV) were measured using pulsedwave Doppler ultrasound (12,13). The pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) are known to reflect vascular resistance distal to the position where the Doppler signal is received (14,15). PI is calculated as (PSV-EDV)/MV and RI as (PSV-EDV)/PSV.…”

Doppler Sonography of Maternal Cerebral Arteries in Pregnancy: Side-to-Side Differences

“…According to findings in non-pregnant women, vessel diameter in our study was equal for the right and left CCAs, but larger on the left side for the VA, suggesting left dominance in the posterior circulation [9,10,12]. A large retrospective study involving 1,000 individuals performed by Chen et al [11] analyzed vertebral hypoplasia and its possible relation to decreased net flow volume through the VAs.…”

“…The present study is part of a broader project studying maternal cerebral circulation in normal pregnancy that will ultimately establish reference values in pregnancy for different Doppler indices for the common and internal carotid arteries (ICAs), as well as the VAs. Several groups have evaluated these vessels in non-pregnant populations [9,10,11,12]. Although the carotid vessels do not appear to differ based on side, the right and left VAs do differ in diameter and flow, which may potentially influence our reference chart.…”