Arterial stiffness indices in healthy volunteers using non-invasive digital photoplethysmography.
BACKGROUND
Increased arterial stiffness is a marker of cardiovascular damage, even in the absence of clinically apparent disease. It is likely to become an important clinical tool in cardiovascular risk assessment.


OBJECTIVE
We studied a group of healthy subjects and measured their arterial stiffness by digital photoplethysmography. We aimed to obtain a range of arterial stiffness values, and investigated the influence of age, gender, race, body mass index, fasting lipids and haemodynamic factors.


RESULTS
One hundred and fifty-two healthy subjects, aged between 18 and 67 years, on no medications and with no significant medical illnesses were recruited. The population was predominantly Caucasian (n = 112). Two measures of arterial stiffness were obtained: stiffness index (SI), a measure of large arterial stiffness, and reflection index (RI), a measure of small to medium-sized arterial stiffness. SI and RI were significantly correlated with age, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Race was a significant independent predictor of SI.


CONCLUSIONS
Digital photoplethysmography is a portable, operator-independent, reproducible and simple method of measuring arterial stiffness. Ranges of normality of arterial stiffness will depend on the individual's age, race, lipid levels, HR and blood pressure.
St George Clinical School, University of New South Wales, St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW, Australia.
Divina G
DG
Brillante
Anthony J
AJ
O'Sullivan
Laurence G
LG
Howes
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017156:Photoplethysmography; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics
D008055:Lipids