Improved Blood Pressure Prediction Using Systolic Flow Correction of Pulse Wave Velocity

Hypertension is a significant worldwide health issue. Continuous blood pressure monitoring is important for early detection of hypertension, and for improving treatment efficacy and compliance. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) has the potential to allow for a continuous blood pressure monitoring device; however published studies demonstrate significant variability in this correlation. In a recently presented physics-based mathematical model of PWV, flow velocity is additive to the classic pressure wave as estimated by arterial material properties, suggesting flow velocity correction may be important for cuff-less non-invasive blood pressure measures. The present study examined the impact of systolic flow correction of a measured PWV on blood pressure prediction accuracy using data from two published in vivo studies. Both studies examined the relationship between PWV and blood pressure under pharmacological manipulation, one in mongrel dogs and the other in healthy adult males. Systolic flow correction of the measured PWV improves the R² correlation to blood pressure from 0.51 to 0.75 for the mongrel dog study, and 0.05 to 0.70 for the human subjects study. The results support the hypothesis that systolic flow correction is an essential element of non-invasive, cuff-less blood pressure estimation based on PWV measures.