title: Pulse wave analysis of aortic pressure:  diastole should also be considered.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The systolic augmentation index (sAix), calculated from the central aortic pulse wave (reconstructed from the noninvasive recording of the radial pulse with applanation tonometry), is widely used as a simple index of central arterial stiffness, but has the disadvantage of also being influenced by the timing of the reflected with respect to the forward pressure wave, as shown by its inverse dependence on heart rate (HR). During diastole, the central aortic pulse also contains reflected waves, but their relationship to arterial stiffness and HR has not been studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 48 men and 45 women, all healthy, with ages ranging from 19 to 70 years, we measured pulse wave velocity (PWV, patients supine), a standard evaluator of arterial stiffness, and carried out radial applanation tonometry (patients sitting and supine). The impact of reflected waves on the diastolic part of the aortic pressure waveform was quantified in the form of a diastolic augmentation index (dAix).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across ages, sexes, and body position, there was an inverse relationship between the sAix and the dAix. When PWV and HR were added as covariates to a prediction model including age, sex and body position as main factors, the sAix was directly related to PWV (P < 0.0001) and inversely to HR (P < 0.0001). With the same analysis, the dAix was inversely related to PWV (P < 0.0001) and independent of HR (P = 0.52).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dAix has the same degree of linkage to arterial stiffness as the more conventional sAix, while being immune to the confounding effect of HR. The quantification of diastolic aortic pressure augmentation by reflected waves could be a useful adjunct to pulse wave analysis.
authors.affiliation: Division de Physiopathologie Clinique, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Abigael
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heim
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liaudet
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Waeber
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feihl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D062186:Arterial Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult