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Aortic pulsatility assessed by an oscillometric method is associated with coronary atherosclerosis in elderly people

Atsushi Nakagomi1, Sho Okada1, Toshihiro Shoji1

  • 1a Department of Cardiovascular Medicine , Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine , Chiba , Japan.

Blood Pressure
|May 5, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Non-invasive aortic pulsatility, measured by fractional pulse pressure and pulsatility index, is linked to coronary artery disease in elderly patients. This simple method may help assess atherosclerosis risk in older individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

  • Coronary atherosclerosis is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease.
  • Assessing coronary artery disease (CAD) risk often involves invasive procedures.
  • Non-invasive methods for evaluating atherosclerosis are highly desirable, especially for elderly populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between non-invasively measured aortic pulsatility and coronary atherosclerosis.
  • To evaluate the utility of fractional pulse pressure (FPP) and pulsatility index (PI) assessed via a brachial cuff in predicting CAD.
  • To determine if this association differs between younger and elderly patients.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study included 139 patients undergoing coronary angiography.
  • Aortic blood pressure indices (FPP and PI) were measured invasively and non-invasively using a brachial cuff oscillometric device.
  • Multivariate logistic regression and linear regression analyses were used to assess associations with CAD and severity scores (SYNTAX, Gensini).

Main Results:

  • Non-invasively measured aortic FPP and PI were significantly higher in patients with CAD compared to those without.
  • These non-invasive indices were independently associated with CAD risk in patients aged ≥70 years (ORs > 1, p < 0.05).
  • Aortic FPP and PI correlated with CAD severity scores (SYNTAX, Gensini) only in patients aged ≥70 years.

Conclusions:

  • Non-invasive assessment of aortic pulsatility using brachial cuff-based devices is associated with coronary atherosclerosis.
  • Fractional pulse pressure and pulsatility index are valuable indicators of CAD risk and severity in elderly patients (≥70 years).
  • This non-invasive approach offers a promising tool for evaluating cardiovascular risk in older adults.

Keywords:
Ageing arterial stiffnesscentral blood pressurecoronary artery diseasepulsatility

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