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Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
08:50

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Published on: June 16, 2014

Correlation between pulse wave velocity and other measures of arterial stiffness in chronic kidney disease

N J Wimmer1, R R Townsend, M M Joffe

  • 1Department of Medicine, Renal-Electrolyte and Hypertension Division, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Clinical Nephrology
|October 6, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx-75) are related measures of arterial stiffness in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. These vascular stiffness parameters demonstrated reproducibility across multiple operators, indicating their reliability in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular physiology
  • Nephrology
  • Biomedical engineering

Background:

  • Arterial stiffness, measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIx), is a key indicator of cardiovascular risk.
  • The relationship between different arterial stiffness parameters is not well-established in populations with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
  • Individuals with CKD have a high burden of cardiovascular disease, making the assessment of vascular health critical.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between different measures of arterial stiffness, specifically PWV and AIx, in individuals with CKD.
  • To assess the reproducibility of PWV and AIx measurements across different operators in the CKD population.

Main Methods:

  • Vascular stiffness parameters (aortic PWV, central AIx, and time to first wave reflection) were measured in 152 participants from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study using the SphygmoCor system.
  • Linear associations were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients.
  • Reproducibility was evaluated by testing measurements across different operators.

Main Results:

  • A moderate association was observed between PWV and heart rate-adjusted AIx (AIx-75) (correlation coefficient ranging from 0.305 to 0.371, p < 0.001).
  • This association was consistent across genders, with slightly stronger correlations in women.
  • Bland-Altman analysis confirmed that both PWV and AIx-75 measurements are reproducible across multiple technicians.

Conclusions:

  • PWV and AIx-75 are related measures of arterial stiffness in the CKD population, despite measuring different physiological quantities.
  • These vascular stiffness parameters exhibit good reproducibility across operators, supporting their use in clinical assessments of CKD patients.
  • The findings highlight the utility of PWV and AIx-75 as reliable indicators of vascular health in individuals with chronic kidney disease.
Abstract

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