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Measuring the Carotid to Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (Cf-PWV) to Evaluate Arterial Stiffness
05:51

Measuring the Carotid to Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (Cf-PWV) to Evaluate Arterial Stiffness

Published on: May 3, 2018

Central versus peripheral arterial stiffness in association with coronary, cerebral and peripheral arterial disease

Shoko Tsuchikura1, Tetsuo Shoji, Eiji Kimoto

  • 1Department of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Molecular Medicine, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-4-3, Asahi-machi, Abeno-ku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. t-shoji@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp

Atherosclerosis
|May 1, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Central arterial stiffness, measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), is elevated in coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and peripheral artery disease (PAD). This increased stiffness in central arteries is a significant finding across these atherosclerotic conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Vascular Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Research
  • Arterial Physiology

Background:

  • Arterial stiffness, particularly in central arteries, is linked to coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • Limited data exists on central arterial stiffness in cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare regional arterial stiffness using pulse wave velocity (PWV) in patients with CAD, CVD, and PAD.
  • To determine if central arterial stiffness is preferentially affected in these atherosclerotic diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Simultaneous measurement of PWV in four arterial segments (heart-femoral, heart-carotid, heart-brachial, femoral-ankle) in 2798 participants.
  • Analysis of 342 subjects with pre-existing atherosclerotic diseases (CAD, CVD, PAD) compared to controls.
  • Utilized an automated pulse wave analyzer (model BP-203RPE, Colin).

Main Results:

  • Subjects with CAD, CVD, or PAD exhibited higher PWV levels across all four measured arterial segments compared to those without atherosclerotic disease.
  • The heart-femoral PWV (aortic stiffness) showed a particularly pronounced increase in patients with these conditions.
  • The elevated heart-femoral PWV remained statistically significant after adjusting for multiple cardiovascular risk factors.

Conclusions:

  • Preferential stiffening of central arteries is a common characteristic of coronary artery disease (CAD).
  • This study demonstrates that increased central arterial stiffness is also prevalent in cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).
  • Findings suggest central arterial stiffness is a shared pathophysiological marker across major atherosclerotic vascular diseases.
Abstract

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