title: Stiffness index derived from digital volume pulse as a marker of target organ damage in untreated hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An index of large artery stiffness (SIDVP) simply derived from the digital volume pulse (DVP) was developed recently. However, the role of the SIDVP in untreated hypertensive patients was not well elucidated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We enrolled 124 untreated hypertensive patients (mean age 55.4+/-13.1 years, 57 men). The DVP was measured in right index finger by a photoplethysmography. The SIDVP was formulated as body height divided by transition time from early systolic peak to the inflection point of reflection wave. Two functional indices of aortic compliance, stiffness index (SI) and distensibility (DI), were also used for measurement of aortic stiffness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SIDVP was significantly correlated with blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and left ventricular mass index (LVMI). Patients with vascular diseases had higher level of SIDVP (10.12+/-2.97 vs 8.45+/-1.78, p<0.001), SI (13.76+/-7.63 vs 10.87+/-8.88, p=0.116), BUN (28.4+/-24.7 vs 14.5+/-4.6, p<0.001) and lower level of DI (1.34+/-0.88 vs 1.93+/-1.12, p=0.010) than those without vascular diseases. By multivariate analysis, only the SIDVP was significantly associated with vascular diseases (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.06-1.82, p=0.016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SIDVP, SI and DI were significantly correlated with target organ damage in untreated hypertension. However, only the SIDVP was independently associated with presence of vascular diseases. SIDVP simply derived from the DVP can be used as a marker for risk stratification in untreated hypertensive patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ju-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei-Chuan
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Chih-Chan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yao-Yi
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chih-Hsin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Ping-Yen
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jyh-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001011:Aorta; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003187:Compliance; D004452:Echocardiography; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017156:Photoplethysmography; D011673:Pulsatile Flow / Q000502:physiology