Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 12, 2025
Measuring the Carotid to Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity Cf-PWV to Evaluate Arterial Stiffness
Published on: May 3, 2018
Prediction of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality using central hemodynamic indices among elderly people:
Tarsila Vieceli1, Bárbara Brambilla2, Raphael Quintana Pereira3
1MD, MSc. Internal Medicine Resident, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre (RS), Brazil.
Insights
Central hemodynamic indices like aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and central systolic blood pressure (SBP) can predict all-cause mortality in older adults. Brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) and central SBP also predict cardiovascular mortality, supporting their use in risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Geriatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Central blood pressure assessment is widely used but its predictive value in the elderly is not well-established.
- Understanding the prognostic capability of central hemodynamic indices in older populations is crucial for cardiovascular risk stratification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the ability of central hemodynamic indices to predict future all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in elderly individuals.
- To provide evidence supporting the clinical utility of central blood pressure measurements in geriatric populations.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted, analyzing 35 studies.
- Included studies focused on patients aged 60 years and older and reported at least one central hemodynamic index.
- Data from 312 full-text articles were systematically reviewed.
Main Results:
- Aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and central systolic blood pressure (SBP) were significant predictors of all-cause mortality.
- Brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV), central SBP, and carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) were significant predictors of cardiovascular mortality.
- Specific standardized mean differences (SMD) and confidence intervals were reported for each significant predictor.
Conclusions:
- aPWV shows promise for predicting all-cause mortality in the elderly.
- baPWV and central SBP consistently predict cardiovascular mortality outcomes in older adults.
- Findings support the use of central blood pressure measurements as a valuable tool for predicting hard outcomes in the elderly.
Background:
Despite widespread usage of central blood pressure assessment its predictive value among elderly people remains unclear.
Objective:
To ascertain the capacity of central hemodynamic indices for predicting future all-cause and cardiovascular hard outcomes among elderly people.
Design And Setting:
Systematic review and meta-analysis developed at the Del Cuore cardiology clinic, in Antonio Prado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Methods:
312 full-text articles were analyzed, from which 35 studies were included for systematic review. The studies included needed to report at least one central hemodynamic index among patients aged 60 years or over.
Results:
For all-cause mortality, aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and central systolic blood pressure (SBP) were significant, respectively with standardized mean difference (SMD) 0.85 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.69-1.01; I2 96%; P < 0.001); and SMD 0.27 (95% CI 0.15-0.39; I2 77%; P 0.012). For cardiovascular mortality brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV), central SBP and carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) were significant, respectively SMD 0.67 (95% CI 0.40-0.93; I2 0%; P 0.610); SMD 0.65 (95% CI 0.48- 0.82; I2 80%; P 0.023); and SMD 0.51 (95% CI 0.32-0.69; I2 85%; P 0.010).
Conclusions:
The meta-analysis results showed that aPWV was promising for predicting all-cause mortality, while baPWV and central SBP demonstrated consistent results in evaluating cardiovascular mortality outcomes. Thus, the findings support usage of central blood pressure as a risk predictor for hard outcomes among elderly people.
Registration Number In Prospero:
RD42018085264.
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