Comparison of arterial stiffness indices measured by the Colins and SphygmoCor systems

Arterial stiffness is a known independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. The Colins system is an easy device and has gained widespread use, but the cutoff value for high-risk central arterial stiffness is not well established. We investigated the correlation between arterial stiffness measured by the Colins system with conventional measurements from the SphygmoCor system. Arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation indices (AIs) were measured on a single visit using two different devices in 948 patients with hypertension or coronary artery disease. Strong positive correlations were observed for PWV values measured by the SphygmoCor and Colins systems. The Colins system measurements accurately predicted high-risk central arterial stiffness, defined as carotid-femoral PWV≥12 m s(-1), with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.884 (heart-femoral PWV, hfPWV) and 0.830 (brachial-ankle PWV, baPWV) in the training set (N=664). The cutoff values, 11.18 (hfPWV) and 16.17 m s(-1) (baPWV), showed good discrimination in the validation set (N=284), with sensitivity of 83.3 (hfPWV) and 76.0% (baPWV), and specificity of 74.9 (hfPWV) and 82.6% (baPWV). The SphygmoCor and Colins AI systems also showed moderate positive correlation. The Colins AI system better predicted high-risk central pulse pressure as defined by pulse pressure≥50 mm Hg (AUC: Colins, 0.765; SphygmoCor, 0.692; P=0.011). Arterial stiffness measured by the Colins system showed strong positive correlation and agreement with the SphygmoCor system measurement. Cutoff values for high-risk central arterial stiffness in the Colins system need further validation in a prospective study.