title: Pulse wave velocity testing in the Baltimore longitudinal study of aging.
abstract: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity is considered the gold standard for measurements of central arterial stiffness obtained through noninvasive methods(1). Subjects are placed in the supine position and allowed to rest quietly for at least 10 min prior to the start of the exam. The proper cuff size is selected and a blood pressure is obtained using an oscillometric device. Once a resting blood pressure has been obtained, pressure waveforms are acquired from the right femoral and right common carotid arteries. The system then automatically calculates the pulse transit time between these two sites (using the carotid artery as a surrogate for the descending aorta). Body surface measurements are used to determine the distance traveled by the pulse wave between the two sampling sites. This distance is then divided by the pulse transit time resulting in the pulse wave velocity. The measurements are performed in triplicate and the average is used for analysis.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Aging.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: David
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Aging.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Malti
authors.forename: Majd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: AlGhatrif
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Aging.
authors.forename: Majd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: al Ghatrif
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Aging.
authors.forename: Jeanette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Aging.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canepa
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Branch, National Institute of Aging; straitj@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Strait
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D059289:Vascular Stiffness