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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

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

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Prediction of cardiovascular events with aortic stiffness in patients with erectile dysfunction

Charalambos Vlachopoulos1, Nikolaos Ioakeimidis2, Konstantinos Aznaouridis2

  • 1From the Cardiovascular Diseases and Sexual Health Unit, 1st Department of Cardiology, Athens Medical School, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece (C.V., N.I., K.A., D.T.-P., K.R., A.A., C.S.); and Department of Nutrition Science and Dietetics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece (D.P.). cvlachop@otenet.gr.

Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979)
|July 2, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Erectile dysfunction patients with higher aortic stiffness, measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), face increased cardiovascular event risk. PWV improves cardiovascular risk prediction in these individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Vascular Medicine
  • Men's Health

Background:

  • Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality.
  • Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a recognized predictor of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if PWV predicts major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with ED beyond traditional risk factors.
  • To assess the utility of aortic stiffness as a biomarker for cardiovascular risk in men with ED.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of MACEs in relation to PWV using proportional hazards models in 344 patients without established cardiovascular disease.
  • Follow-up duration averaged 4.7 years.
  • Patients were stratified into tertiles based on PWV measurements.

Main Results:

  • A 4-fold higher risk of MACEs was observed in the highest PWV tertile (>8.8 m/s) compared to the lowest (<7.6 m/s) (adjusted hazard ratio, 3.97; P=0.035).
  • A PWV of 7.81 m/s demonstrated a 98.1% negative predictive value for MACEs.
  • Incorporating PWV into standard risk models improved patient reclassification by 27.6% (P=0.0332).

Conclusions:

  • Elevated aortic stiffness, indicated by higher PWV, is linked to an increased risk of MACEs in men with ED and no known cardiovascular disease.
  • Aortic PWV enhances cardiovascular risk prediction when added to conventional risk factors.
  • PWV may serve as a valuable biomarker for predicting cardiovascular disease risk in patients with erectile dysfunction.

Keywords:
erectile dysfunctionpulse wave analysisvascular stiffness

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