Demonstration of Pressure-Dependent Inter and Intra-Cycle Variations in Local Pulse Wave Velocity Using Excised...

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a function of the artery's material property, and its incremental nature in elastic modulus led to the concept of incremental PWV. Recent advancements in technology paved the way for reliable measurement of the variation in PWV within a cardiac cycle. This change in PWV has shown its potential as a biomarker for advanced cardiovascular diagnostics, screening, and has recently started using as a vascular screening tool and medical device development. In this work, we have demonstrated the concept of inter and intra-cycle variations of PWV with pressure using an excised bovine carotid artery. Results demonstrated that local PWV measured at the foot of the waveform followed the same trend as of the pressure. As the pressure level was increased to 68% across the cycles, resulting PWV increased up to 81%. An exponential PWV-Pressure relationship was obtained, in agreement with the widely used models. The incremental nature of PWV was recorded in a reflection-free region of the pressure pulse wave. This was further demonstrated in continuous pulse cycles with varying pressure ranges, by comparing the PWV values at two fiduciary points selected in the upstroke of the pressure wave. On average, a 48.11% increase in PWV was observed for 31.04% increase in pressure between the selected fiducial points within a pulse cycle. The article concludes, highlighting the clinical significance of incremental PWV.Clinical Relevance- This experimental study supplements the evidence for the incremental nature of PWV within a cardiac cycle, which has the potential for being a biomarker for advanced cardiovascular screening and diagnostics.