Reference values for vertebral artery flow volume by duplex sonography in young and elderly adults

Background and Purpose-Vertebrobasilar ischemia has been attributed to a re duction of net vertebral artery flow volume, the product of mean flow veloc ity and the cross-sectional area of the vessel. It can be determined by dup lex sonography. There are no reference values for vertebral artery flow vol ume in an age group representative of patients with cerebrovascular disease . Methods-We examined 50 nonvascular neurological patients (age 55.8 +/- 14.0 ) years). Flow velocities and vessel diameters were recorded in the intertr ansverse (V2) segments bilaterally, and the flow volume was calculated acco rding to the following equations: (1) Q1=time-averaged mean velocity x area and (2) Q2=(time-averaged maximum velocity/2) x area. Results-Flow velocities and vessel diameters tended to be lower on the righ t side, resulting in a lower flow volume. Flow volumes (according to Equati on 1) were 77.2 +/- 29.8 mL/min on the right side, 105.3 + /- 46.4 mL/min o n the left side, and 182.0 +/- 56.0 mL/min net. Side-to-side differences we re not significant. Flow volumes calculated with the 2 equations did not di ffer significantly. An age dependence could not be shown, but vessel diamet ers and net vertebral artery flow volumes were significantly lower in women than in men. The normal range for net vertebral artery flow volume defined by the 5th to 95th percentiles is between 102.4 and 301.0 mL/min. This wid e range is due to the high interindividual variability of the parameters. Conclusions-On the basis of the reference values presented here, the associ ation of decreased vertebral artery flow volume and vertebrobasilar ischemi a should be reevaluated. Additional areas for investigation include the qua ntification of collateral flow in the vertebral arteries in carotid artery occlusive disease and their contribution to overall cerebral blood flow vol ume.