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Pulse Wave Velocity Comparing Estimated and Direct Measures of Path Length in Older Women

Artery Research volume 26, pages 236–241 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Carotid-femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (cfPWV) is the gold-standard measure of arterial stiffness. Accuracy of non-invasive cfPWV as meters per second is impeded by surface estimates of aortic length. Our aim was to compare cfPWV measured using distance estimated from surface measurements with distance traced along the length of the aorta using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in a cohort of older women.

Methods

Seventy-four women were recruited from the TwinsUK cohort. cfPWV was measured using the SphygmoCor system (SphygmoCor-PWV). The path between carotid and femoral sites was estimated from surface measurements between the sternal notch and femoral artery applanation point. Aortic distance was measured with MRI to obtain MRI-PWV. cfPWV was recalculated using MRI obtained distance.

Results

Mean ± standard deviation SphygmoCor-PWV was 9.9 ± 2.1 m/s and MRI-PWV 7.63 ± 1.97 m/s (mean difference 2.2 ± 1.96 m/s, p < 0.001). Distances were considerably higher using surface measures for the SphygmoCor (55.2 ± 3.0, 95% confidence interval 54.4–55.9 cm) compared with MRI (39.9 ± 3.2, 39.2–40.7 cm) with a mean difference of 15.2 cm (14.3–16.2 cm, p < 0.001). Transit times were also marginally longer with the SphygmoCor. When SphygmoCor-PWV was Recalculated using MRI-obtained aortic distance (rec-PWV), the difference between SphygmoCor-PWV and rec-PWV reduced to 0.5 m/s (7.13 ± 1.46 vs. 7.63 ± 1.97 m/s, p = 0.08).

Conclusion

In these older women, the PWV difference between SphygmoCor and MRI is substantial but reduced when using MRI length estimates. Important differences between PWV measured by Sphygmocor and MRI are mainly due to accuracy of distance measurements, which may need re-addressing in guidelines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College London British Heart Foundation Centre, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, St Thomas’ Hospital, London, UK

    Ludovica Bognoni, Marina Cecelja & Philip Chowienczyk

  2. University of Medicine, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

    Ludovica Bognoni

  3. King’s College London, Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, St Thomas’ Hospital, London, UK

    Tarique Hussain, Gerald Greil & Tim Spector

  4. Department of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA

    Tarique Hussain & Gerald Greil

  5. School of Lifecourse & Nutritional Sciences, King’s College, London and Clinical Research Facility, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK

    J. Kennedy Cruickshank

Authors
  1. Ludovica Bognoni
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  2. Marina Cecelja
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  3. Tarique Hussain
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  4. Gerald Greil
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  5. Tim Spector
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  6. Philip Chowienczyk
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  7. J. Kennedy Cruickshank
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marina Cecelja.

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Co-first author.

Peer review under responsibility of the Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology

Data availability statement: Data in this study are available upon request through application to the TwinsUK data access committee. Information on data access and how to apply is available at http://www.twinsuk.ac.uk/dataaccess/submission-procedure/.

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Bognoni, L., Cecelja, M., Hussain, T. et al. Pulse Wave Velocity Comparing Estimated and Direct Measures of Path Length in Older Women. Artery Res 26, 236–241 (2020). https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.200819.001

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.200819.001

Keywords

Artery Research

ISSN: 1876-4401

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