Age, sex, and the vascular contributors to cerebral pulsatility and pulsatile damping
Wesley K. Lefferts, Jacob P. DeBlois, Jacqueline A. Augustine, Allison Keller, Kevin S. Heffernan
Abstract
Cerebral pulsatility contributes to brain health and depends on a balance between transmission and damping of pulsatile hemodynamics into the cerebrovasculature. Our data indicate that cerebral pulsatility increases with age, female sex, extracranial artery stiffening, forward wave energy, and pulse pressure, whereas pulsatile damping decreases with age and female sex and increases with greater carotid wave reflections. These novel data identify pulsatile damping as a potential contributor to sex differences in cerebral pulsatile burden.
Topics & Concepts
Pulsatile flowMiddle cerebral arteryInternal medicinePulse wave velocityCardiologyCerebral arteriesPulse pressureMedicineAnterior cerebral arteryBlood pressureIschemiaCardiovascular Health and Disease PreventionCerebrovascular and Carotid Artery DiseasesTraumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances