title: Is There an Association Between Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity and Coronary Heart Disease in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Pilot Study.
abstract: Arterial stiffness has been shown to predict cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is regarded the gold standard marker of arterial stiffness. In previous studies, cfPWV was associated with the presence of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, with regard to CHD severity as assessed by the Syntax Score, only brachial-ankle PWV was reported to correlate with Syntax Score; no data exist for cfPWV. In this pilot study, we evaluated the possible associations between cfPWV, CHD and Syntax Score in 62 consecutive pa-tients (49 males; mean age: 64±12years) with chest pain undergoing scheduled coronary angiography. cfPWV was signifi-cantly higher in CHD patients than in non-CHD individuals (10 vs. 8.4 m/s; p = 0.003). No significant association was found between cfPWV and CHD severity as assessed by Syntax Score. A cut-off point of 12.3 m/s was considered as diagnostic for abnormally increased cfPWV (specificity: 97%; sensitivity: 12%; positive likelihood ratio: 3.558). Further research is needed to establish the relationship between cfPWV and Syntax Score.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hip-pocration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Katsiki
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hip-pocration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Erietta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kollari
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hip-pocration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Sotirios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dardas
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Agios Loukas Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dardas
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Anna-Bettina
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Haidich
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hip-pocration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Vasilios G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Athyros
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hip-pocration Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Asterios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karagiannis
keywords: Arterial stiffness; coronary angiography; coronary heart disease; pulse wave velocity; syntax score