This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Smedby, O. Articles by Erikson, U. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Smedby, O. Articles by Erikson, U.

(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 1995;15:912-917.)
© 1995 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Predilection of Atherosclerosis for the Inner Curvature in the Femoral Artery

A Digitized Angiography Study

Ö. Smedby; J. Johansson; J. Mölgaard; A. G. Olsson; G. Walldius; U. Erikson

From the Department of Diagnostic Radiology (Ö.S., U.E.), Uppsala University, Uppsala; the Center of General Medicine (J.J.), Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm; the Department of Internal Medicine (J.M., A.G.O.), Linköping University, Linköping; and the King Gustaf V Research Institute (G.W.), Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Correspondence to Örjan Smedby, Dr Med Sci, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Uppsala University Hospital, S-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.

Abstract The degree of atherosclerosis in the inner and outer curvature of the femoral artery was studied by using digitized angiography and edge-roughness calculations in 301 hyperlipidemic patients. When the two edges of the vessel were compared no significant difference was seen, but when the local curvature was taken into account, inner curves were found to be more atherosclerotic than outer curves, and both inner and outer curves were more affected than straight segments. The same pattern was encountered in subpopulations defined by clinical or blood lipid criteria. The suggested explanation is that flow disturbances such as low shear rates or separated flow, which tend to arise along the inner curvature, promote the development of atherosclerosis.

Key Words: atherosclerosis, pathogenesis • roughness • curvature • shear rate • flow separation

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. B. Wood, S. Z. Zhao, A. Zambanini, M. Jackson, W. Gedroyc, S. A. Thom, A. D. Hughes, and X. Y. Xu Curvature and tortuosity of the superficial femoral artery: a possible risk factor for peripheral arterial disease J Appl Physiol, November 1, 2006; 101(5): 1412 - 1418. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Zhu and M. H. Friedman Relationship Between the Dynamic Geometry and Wall Thickness of a Human Coronary Artery Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., December 1, 2003; 23(12): 2260 - 2265. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Krams, J.J. Wentzel, J.A.F. Oomen, R. Vinke, J.C.H. Schuurbiers, P.J. de Feyter, P.W. Serruys, and C.J. Slager Evaluation of Endothelial Shear Stress and 3D Geometry as Factors Determining the Development of Atherosclerosis and Remodeling in Human Coronary Arteries in Vivo : Combining 3D Reconstruction from Angiography and IVUS (ANGUS) with Computational Fluid Dynamics Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., October 1, 1997; 17(10): 2061 - 2065. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				O. Smedby Do Plaques Grow Upstream or Downstream?: An Angiographic Study in the Femoral Artery Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., May 1, 1997; 17(5): 912 - 918. [Abstract] [Full Text]