Reproducibility of regional pulse wave velocity in healthy subjects.
OBJECTIVE
Despite the clinical importance and widespread use of pulse wave velocity (PWV), there are no standards for pulse sensors or for system requirements to ensure accurate pulse wave measurement. We assessed the reproducibility of PWV values using a newly developed PWV measurement system.


METHODS
The system used in this study was the PP-1000, which simultaneously provides regional PWV values from arteries at four different sites (carotid, femoral, radial, and dorsalis pedis). Seventeen healthy male subjects without any cardiovascular disease participated in this study. Two observers performed two consecutive measurements in the same subject in random order. To evaluate the reproducibility of the system, two sets of analyses (within-observer and between-observer) were performed.


RESULTS
The means+/-SD of PWV for the aorta, arm, and leg were 7.0+/-1.48, 8.43+/-1.14, and 8.09+/-0.98 m/s as measured by observer A and 6.76+/-1.00, 7.97+/-0.80, and 7.97+/-0.72 m/s by observer B, respectively. Betweenobserver differences for the aorta, arm, and leg were 0.14+/-0.62, 0.18+/-0.84, and 0.07+/-0.86 m/s, respectively, and the correlation coefficients were high, especially for aortic PWV (r=0.93). All the measurements showed significant correlation coefficients, ranging from 0.94 to 0.99.


CONCLUSIONS
The PWV measurement system used in this study provides accurate analysis results with high reproducibility. It is necessary to provide an accurate algorithm for the detection of additional features such as flow wave, reflection wave, and dicrotic notch from a pulse waveform.
Lee
Nak Bum
NB
Department of Medical Equipment Information, Vision College of Jeonju, Jeonju, Korea.
Park
Chang Gyu
CG
D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D005528:Foot / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult