Magnetic Resonance Venous Volume Measurements in Peripheral Artery Disease (from ELIMIT)

The relationship between the arterial and venous system in patients with impaired lower extremity blood flow remains poorly described. The objective of this secondary analysis of the Effectiveness of Intensive Lipid Modification Medication in Preventing the Progression on Peripheral Artery Disease Trial (ELIMIT) was to determine the association between femoral vein (FV) volumes and measures of peripheral artery disease (PAD). FV wall, lumen, and total volumes were quantified with fast spin-echo (FSE) proton density weighted (PDW) MRI scans in 79 PAD patients over 2-years. Reproducibility was excellent for FV total vessel (intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC] =0.924, confidence interval (CI) 0.910-0.935) and lumen volumes (ICC=0.893, CI 0.873-0.910). Baseline superficial femoral artery (SFA) volumes were directly associated with FV wall (r=0.46, p<0.0001), lumen (r=0.42, p=0.0001), and total volumes (r=0.46, p<0.0001). The 2-year change in maximum walking time (MWT) was inversely associated with the 24-month change in FV total volume (r=−0.45, p=0.03). In conclusion, FV volumes can be measured reliably with FSE PDW MRI and baseline SFA plaque burden is positively associated with FV volumes, whereas the 2-year change in FV volumes and leg function show an inverse relation