Relationship between Vascular Tortuosity Rate and Atherosclerotic Risk Factors in Patients with Carotid Artery Stenosis
Abstract
PURPOSE: There is a significant association between carotid artery (CA) stenosis and atherosclerosis, with those patients often presenting with carotid tortuosity. However, the relationship between atherosclerotic risk factors and carotid tortuosity remains controversial. Previous assessments of tortuosity have predominantly utilized qualitative 2D methods. This retrospective study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the tortuosity of CAs in 3D geometry and to investigate the relationship with atherosclerotic risk factors. METHODS: A total of 168 CAs in 96 patients diagnosed with at least either-side CA stenosis on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) between 2011 and 2019 were included in this single-center study, following the exclusion of post-treatment CAs and those with poor imaging quality. The 3D geometries of CAs were segmented using MRA and the centerlines were generated. Vascular tortuosity rate (VTR) was calculated as the curved distance divided by the linear distance between the specified 2 points. The relationship between VTRs and 8 atherosclerotic risk factors-age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol (TC), non-fasting serum triglyceride (TG), and Brinkman index-was analyzed. RESULTS: ], and systolic blood pressure ≥140 [mmHg] in internal CAs. CONCLUSION: Quantitative assessment of carotid tortuosity revealed significant associations with several atherosclerotic risk factors, including obesity, hypertension, advanced age, and dyslipidemia, suggesting that VTRs may reflect the presence of these risk factors.
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BibTeX
@article{tsuji2026relationship,
title = {{Relationship between Vascular Tortuosity Rate and Atherosclerotic Risk Factors in Patients with Carotid Artery Stenosis}},
author = {Masanori Tsuji and Fujimaro Ishida and Yoichi Miura and Takenori Sato and Yume Suzuki and Hideki Kanamaru and Kazuhiro Furukawa and Takeshi Okada and Keiji Fukazawa and Ryuta Yasuda and Yasuyuki Umeda and Naoki Toma and Hidenori Suzuki},
journal = {Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.2463/mrms.mp.2025-0062},
url = {https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mrms/25/4/25_mp.2025-0062/_article},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Relationship between Vascular Tortuosity Rate and Atherosclerotic Risk Factors in Patients with Carotid Artery Stenosis
AU - Masanori Tsuji
AU - Fujimaro Ishida
AU - Yoichi Miura
AU - Takenori Sato
AU - Yume Suzuki
AU - Hideki Kanamaru
AU - Kazuhiro Furukawa
AU - Takeshi Okada
AU - Keiji Fukazawa
AU - Ryuta Yasuda
AU - Yasuyuki Umeda
AU - Naoki Toma
AU - Hidenori Suzuki
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/11
JO - Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences
DO - 10.2463/mrms.mp.2025-0062
UR - https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mrms/25/4/25_mp.2025-0062/_article
AB - PURPOSE: There is a significant association between carotid artery (CA) stenosis and atherosclerosis, with those patients often presenting with carotid tortuosity. However, the relationship between atherosclerotic risk factors and carotid tortuosity remains controversial. Previous assessments of tortuosity have predominantly utilized qualitative 2D methods. This retrospective study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the tortuosity of CAs in 3D geometry and to investigate the relationship with atherosclerotic risk factors. METHODS: A total of 168 CAs in 96 patients diagnosed with at least either-side CA stenosis on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) between 2011 and 2019 were included in this single-center study, following the exclusion of post-treatment CAs and those with poor imaging quality. The 3D geometries of CAs were segmented using MRA and the centerlines were generated. Vascular tortuosity rate (VTR) was calculated as the curved distance divided by the linear distance between the specified 2 points. The relationship between VTRs and 8 atherosclerotic risk factors-age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol (TC), non-fasting serum triglyceride (TG), and Brinkman index-was analyzed. RESULTS: ], and systolic blood pressure ≥140 [mmHg] in internal CAs. CONCLUSION: Quantitative assessment of carotid tortuosity revealed significant associations with several atherosclerotic risk factors, including obesity, hypertension, advanced age, and dyslipidemia, suggesting that VTRs may reflect the presence of these risk factors.
SN - 1880-2206
SN - 1347-3182
ER -