P1.32 Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity: A New Method for Clinical Evaluation of Arterial Stiffness Compared with Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity

Abstract

Background

Arterial stiffness (AS) reflects morfo-functional modifications of elastic arteries due to aging and atherosclerosis.

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWVcf) represents an estabilished marker of aortic stiffness and predictor of cardiovascular mortality.

Recently, a new method for evaluating arterial stiffness based on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWVba) and capable to provide a stiffness index, CAVI (cardio-ankle vascular index), has been proposed.

Aim

to compare PWVba with PWVcf and to evaluate the corresponding relationships with age and blood pressure in healthy subjects and patients with major risk factors for atherosclerosis.

Methods

46 subjects (19 controls; 27 patients with risk factors but without clinical cardiovascular disease; 31 women; age 43±18) were studied. PWVcf was assessed by the established foot to foot method (Complior Artech, Paris); PWVba and CAVI were obtained by a commercially available system (Vasera Fukuda, Tokyo), recording simultaneously brachial and tibial sphygmogram, ECG and phonocardiogram (PGC). CAVI is derived from the stiffness index Beta, according to Bramwell-Hill formula.

Results

PWba was significantly correlated with PWVcf (r = 0.785, p<0.001); in Bland Altman analysis, all points but two were included into ± 2SD of mean difference (mean difference = 0.804 ± 2.17 m/s). CAVI, PWVba, PWVcf were directly correlated with age (r = 0.778, 0.595, 0.687; p<0.001) and pulse pressure (r = 0.504, 0.300, 0.422; p<0.001).

Conclusions

PWVba, an integrated index of aortic and femoro-tibial stiffness, shows good agreement with PWVcf. CAVI index seems to provide the best associations with age and pulse pressure.