MR pulse wave velocity increases with age faster in the thoracic aorta than in the abdominal aorta

Purpose To assess the difference between thoracic and abdominal aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) in apparently healthy subjects including young adults to elderly subjects. Materials and Methods We performed PWV and distensibility measurements and analysis of thoracic and abdominal aortic segments in 96 apparently normal subjects aged 20–80 years with magnetic resonance (MR). Both unadjusted correlation and General Linear Model (GLM) analysis of log‐transformed PWV (thoracic and abdominal aorta) and distensibility (four aortic cross‐sections) were performed. Results Both thoracic and abdominal PWV values and distensibility values increased with age. In unadjusted analyses the correlation between the ln(thoracic PWV) and age (r = 0.71; P