Figure 1

Aortic arch pulse wave velocity assessment: (A) Double-oblique parasagittal image of the thoracic aorta. The gray line represents the acquisition plane for one-directional through-plane velocity-encoded MRI which is positioned perpendicular to the ascending aorta (1) and additionally transects the proximal descending aorta (2). Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is determined from the propagation of the blood flow velocity, defined from the velocity-time curves recorded at locations 1 and 2 (B). PWV is defined as Δx/Δt, with Δx the path length along the centerline of the aorta from positions 1 to 2 and Δt the transit time for the foot of the velocity wave to propagate from positions 1 to 2.