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Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Measuring the Carotid to Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity Cf-PWV to Evaluate Arterial Stiffness
Published on: May 3, 2018
Incremental value of the measures of arterial stiffness in cardiovascular risk assessment
Gwon Pung Lee1, Hack-Lyoung Kim1
1Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 07061 Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Insights
Arterial stiffness measurement, like pulse wave velocity (PWV), offers valuable insights for predicting cardiovascular events and organ damage. Combining PWV with other risk factors enhances cardiovascular risk assessment for personalized patient care.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Vascular Medicine
- Preventive Cardiology
Background:
- Predicting cardiovascular events and organ damage is crucial for patient prognosis and personalized treatment.
- Existing cardiovascular risk stratification tools have limitations, highlighting the need for improved methods.
- Arterial stiffness, a marker of vascular aging and damage, presents a practical approach for enhanced risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the incremental value of arterial stiffness measurement in cardiovascular risk assessment.
- To explore how arterial stiffness, particularly pulse wave velocity (PWV), complements traditional risk factors and other assessment tools.
- To emphasize the utility of arterial stiffness in improving the prediction of cardiovascular events and organ damage.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on arterial stiffness measurement, focusing on pulse wave velocity (PWV).
- Analysis of studies evaluating the association of arterial stiffness with cardiovascular events and organ damage.
- Exploration of the combined predictive power of arterial stiffness with traditional risk factors, biomarkers, and imaging techniques.
Main Results:
- Arterial stiffness, measured by PWV, is independently associated with future cardiovascular events across diverse populations.
- PWV measurement is non-invasive, easily performed, and provides practical information on vascular health.
- Integrating arterial stiffness data with other risk stratification tools significantly improves cardiovascular risk prediction.
Conclusions:
- Arterial stiffness measurement, especially PWV, provides incremental value in cardiovascular risk assessment.
- Combining arterial stiffness with traditional risk factors, biomarkers, and imaging enhances the prediction of cardiovascular events and organ damage.
- Utilizing arterial stiffness information facilitates earlier and more personalized patient management strategies.
Abstract:
Predicting the occurrence of organ damage and future cardiovascular events is critical to improving patient prognosis through early personalized treatment. Although many tools have been developed and used for individuals' cardiovascular risk, they have limitations and unmet needs for improved risk stratification. For this purpose, arterial stiffness information can be practical. Arterial walls stiffen with age or prolonged exposure to various noxious stimuli such as high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, inflammation and oxidative stress. Differently from several methods of measuring arterial stiffness, pulse wave velocity (PWV) is most widely used for its non-invasive and easy measurement. It is well authorized that information on arterial stiffness is associated with the development of future cardiovascular events, independent from traditional cardiovascular risk factors, in various patient groups with specific diseases along with the general population. Moreover, when this information of arterial stiffness is associated with other risk stratification tools, it is possible to predict individuals' cardiovascular risk easier. Herein, we will review the incremental value of the measurement of arterial stiffness in cardiovascular risk assessment when combined with other risk factors such as traditional risk factors, biomarkers, other vascular testing and non-invasive cardiac imaging.
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