Curvature and tortuosity of the superficial femoral artery: a possible risk factor for peripheral arterial disease

Atherosclerosis in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) resulting in peripheral arterial disease is more common in men than women and shows a predilection for the region of the adductor canal. Blood flow patterns are related to development of atherosclerosis, and we investigated if curvature and tortuosity of the femoral artery differed between young men and women and if differences resulted in adverse flow patterns. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were combined in 18 young adult volunteers (9 men) to assess the relationship of flow features to likely sites of future atherosclerosis formation. Subjects underwent MRI of the right SFA, three-dimensional vascular geometry was reconstructed, and measures of tortuosity and curvature were calculated. Tortuosity and curvature were significantly greater for men than women, and this was related to increased body surface area, body mass index, or weight in men. In both sexes, “tortuosity” increased from the midthigh to the popliteal fossa. The greatest curvature was found within the distal quarter of the SFA. CFD modeling was undertaken on MRI-based reconstructions of the SFA. Wall shear stresses (WSS) were extracted from the computations. WSS showed greater spatial variation in the men than in the women, and the men exhibited lower mean WSS. These data indicate that sex differences related to body size and anatomical course of the femoral artery may contribute to the enhanced risk of focal atherosclerosis in the adductor canal.