Carotid arterial stiffening is associated with reduced downstream territorial perfusion of internal carotid artery in elderly adults

Arterial stiffness is an important risk marker for poor brain aging, vascular disease, and dementia. Greater arterial stiffness leads to the transmission of excessive pulsations from the greater vessels into the downstream capillary and tissue causing microvascular dysfunction. However, previous studies have mainly focused on central or peripheral pulse wave velocity assessment. The present study has demonstrated a significant association of the PWV of the feeding arteries to the brain and its downstream territorial perfusion assessed by using two new MRI techniques, which could provide valuable insight into the neurovascular pathology of aging and brain dysfunction.