Impact of vessel morphology on hemodynamics of lenticulostriate arteries during atrial fibrillation

Lenticulostriate arteries (LSAs) are small perforating arteries mainly departing from the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and, less frequently, from the anterior cerebral artery (ACA). These arteries are responsible for supplying blood to important deep brain structures such as the basal ganglia. LSAs are susceptible to small vessel disease, which is one of the main mechanisms of subcortical vascular dementia development. In addition, there is growing evidence that an alteration of deep cerebral hemodynamics due to atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of vascular dementia and cognitive impairment. In this complex context, an important role could be played by the almost orthogonal branching of these vessels. The purpose of this study, which combines CFD analysis of LSAs with 7T highresolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is to investigate the impact of different LSAs morphologies on cerebral hemodynamics during AF events.