Heart rate: an important confounder of pulse wave velocity assessment

Arterial stiffness is a strong determinant of cardiovascular risk. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an index of arterial stiffness, and its prognostic value has been repeatedly emphasized. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of heart rate (HR) on PWV. Twenty-two subjects with a mean age of 77.8+/-8.4 (SD) years and permanent cardiac pacing were studied. In each subject, PWV was measured at 5 different pacing frequencies in the same session (60, 70, 80, 90, 100 bpm), the order of the various frequencies being randomly determined. Furthermore, to test the reproducibility, a repeat measurement of PWV was obtained in one randomly selected frequency. Blood pressure (BP) was measured by conventional means at each pacing frequency. PWV appeared fairly reproducible because no significant difference was disclosed between the 2 measurements obtained at the same HR level (P=0.5) and both measurements were strongly correlated (r=0.87, P<0.001). No significant BP variation was observed during pacing. There was a highly significant effect of HR on PWV estimated by a one-way, within-subjects analysis of variance (P=0.01). This study demonstrates that HR is an important factor in the intraindividual variation of PWV in elderly subjects. This raises methodological concern about the measurement of this parameter. Standardizing PWV for HR level seems mandatory if one wants to interpret PWV changes in clinical trials or in the follow-up of patients.