title: The effect of measurement position on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity.
abstract: Arterial stiffness measurements are primarily used for the early detection of arteriosclerosis. Methods and devices that can easily measure arterial stiffness at home are in demand. We propose a simple method for measuring brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) at home using a reclining chair and investigate the effects of positioning on baPWV measurement. We measured baPWV in 50 healthy men (21-70 years) in seven different measurement positions, including the supine position, sitting, sitting with the knees flexed at 45°, sitting with the knees flexed at 0°, reclining at 37°, reclining at 50°, and standing. BaPWV was significantly lower in the supine position (P < 0.01) than in the other positions. It was significantly higher in the sitting position (P < 0.01) than in the reclining position (37°). No changes in baPWV were seen changing the knee flexion angle alone while sitting. Strong correlations were also ob- served between baPWV in the supine position and that in other positions. We showed that baPWV in the supine position can be calcu- lated by making corrections to baPWV measured in the sitting position at a reclining angle. Utilizing this corrected value would allow easy measurement at home using a reclining chair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Engineering, Utsunomiya University, Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimawaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Engineering, Utsunomiya University, Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toda
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Engineering, Utsunomiya University, Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Intelligent Engineering, Utsunomiya University, Graduate School of Engineering, Utsunomiya, Japan.
authors.forename: Naotaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D011187:Posture; D011673:Pulsatile Flow / Q000502:physiology*; D016683:Supine Position; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D055815:Young Adult