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Updated: May 4, 2026
Pulse Wave Velocity Testing in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
Published on: February 7, 2014
Regional pulse wave velocities and their cardiovascular risk factors among healthy middle-aged men: a cross-sectional
Jina Choo1, Chol Shin, Emma Barinas-Mitchell
1College of Nursing, Korea University, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 136-705, South Korea. jinachoo@gmail.com.
Insights
Carotid-femoral (cf) pulse wave velocity (PWV) strongly correlates with central arterial stiffness, while brachial-ankle (ba) PWV reflects both central and peripheral stiffness. Systolic blood pressure is linked to all PWV measures.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Public Health
Background:
- Carotid-femoral (cf) and brachial-ankle (ba) pulse wave velocity (PWV) are common measures of arterial stiffness.
- These methods may not accurately reflect the true path of blood flow.
- Limited research exists comparing cfPWV and baPWV with pure central (heart-femoral, hfPWV) and peripheral (femoral-ankle, faPWV) arterial stiffness measures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the correlation between commonly used cfPWV and baPWV with hfPWV and faPWV.
- To assess if cfPWV and baPWV align with hfPWV or faPWV in their associations with cardiovascular risk factors.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study of 784 healthy men aged 40-49 from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
- Simultaneous measurement of four regional PWVs (cfPWV, baPWV, hfPWV, faPWV) using an automated tonometry/plethysmography system.
Main Results:
- cfPWV showed a strong correlation with hfPWV (r = .81) but a weak correlation with faPWV (r = .12).
- baPWV demonstrated moderate correlations with both hfPWV (r = .47) and faPWV (r = .62).
- Systolic blood pressure was consistently associated with all PWV measures; cfPWV aligned with central stiffness measures, while baPWV reflected both central and peripheral stiffness.
Conclusions:
- cfPWV primarily reflects central arterial stiffness, whereas baPWV captures both central and peripheral arterial stiffness.
- Systolic blood pressure is a universal correlate of regional PWVs.
- The choice of PWV measurement impacts its association with specific cardiovascular risk factors and arterial segments.
Background:
Both carotid-femoral (cf) pulse wave velocity (PWV) and brachial-ankle (ba) PWV employ arterial sites that are not consistent with the path of blood flow. Few previous studies have reported the differential characteristics between cfPWV and baPWV by simultaneously comparing these with measures of pure central (aorta) and peripheral (leg) arterial stiffness, i.e., heart-femoral (hf) PWV and femoral-ankle (fa) PWV in healthy populations. We aimed to identify the degree to which these commonly used measures of cfPWV and baPWV correlate with hfPWV and faPWV, respectively, and to evaluate whether both cfPWV and baPWV are consistent with either hfPWV or faPWV in their associations with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors.
Methods:
A population-based sample of healthy 784 men aged 40-49 (202 white Americans, 68 African Americans, 202 Japanese-Americans, and 282 Koreans) was examined in this cross-sectional study. Four regional PWVs were simultaneously measured by an automated tonometry/plethysmography system.
Results:
cfPWV correlated strongly with hfPWV (r = .81, P < .001), but weakly with faPWV (r = .12, P = .001). baPWV correlated moderately with both hfPWV (r = .47, P < .001) and faPWV (r = .62, P < .001). After stepwise regression analyses with adjustments for race, cfPWV shared common significant correlates with both hfPWV and faPWV: systolic blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI). However, BMI was positively associated with hfPWV and cfPWV, and negatively associated with faPWV. baPWV shared common significant correlates with hfPWV: age and systolic BP. baPWV also shared the following correlates with faPWV: systolic BP, triglycerides, and current smoking.
Conclusions:
Among healthy men aged 40 - 49, cfPWV correlated strongly with central PWV, and baPWV correlated with both central and peripheral PWVs. Of the CV risk factors, systolic BP was uniformly associated with all the regional PWVs. In the associations with factors other than systolic BP, cfPWV was consistent with central PWV, while baPWV was consistent with both central and peripheral PWVs.
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