Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Pulse Wave Velocity Testing in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
Published on: February 7, 2014
Heart-Carotid Pulse Wave Velocity for Non-invasive Vascular Stiffness Assessment: A Feasibility Study
Insights
A new device measures heart-carotid pulse wave velocity (hcPWV) as a reliable alternative to carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) for assessing arterial stiffness. This non-invasive method shows strong agreement with cfPWV, paving the way for easier monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Devices
Background:
- Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is a key indicator of aortic arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk.
- Current cfPWV measurement limitations include the need for femoral access, hindering routine clinical and self-monitoring applications.
- Heart-carotid PWV (hcPWV) offers a potential non-invasive alternative for assessing aortic stiffness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and evaluate a novel device for measuring hcPWV using phonocardiogram (PCG) and photoplethysmography (PPG) signals.
- To assess the feasibility and reliability of in-vivo hcPWV measurements.
- To examine the association and agreement between hcPWV and cfPWV.
Main Methods:
- Simultaneous acquisition of PCG signals at the heart and PPG signals at the carotid artery.
- Measurement of pulse transit time (PTT) between the heart and carotid artery.
- Comparison of hcPWV with cfPWV using Pearson's correlation coefficient in 30 subjects.
Main Results:
- The novel device demonstrated repeatable beat-to-beat PTT measurements with a coefficient of variation (CoV) below 12%.
- Mean hcPWV was 4.67 ± 0.95 m/s, and mean cfPWV was 6.17 ± 1.17 m/s.
- A strong positive correlation was found between hcPWV and cfPWV (r = 0.71, p <0.001), indicating good agreement.
Conclusions:
- The novel hcPWV measurement shows promising reliability and strong agreement with the established cfPWV method.
- This non-invasive approach has significant potential for assessing arterial stiffness in settings where cfPWV is difficult to obtain.
- Further large-scale studies are needed to validate hcPWV, with future applications in wearable technology for homecare and ambulatory monitoring.
Abstract:
Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is one of the established markers of aortic arterial stiffness with proven predictive capability for adverse cardiovascular events. Despite a large body of clinical evidence, cfPWV is not routinely assessed in clinical practice nor used for ambulatory or self-monitoring, as it requires access to the femoral site, which leads to poor subject compliance for the assessment. Heart-carotid PWV (hcPWV) is a potential alternative for measuring aortic arterial stiffness in settings where cf-PWV is challenging to measure. We introduce a novel device for easy and reliable measurement of hcPWV, using simultaneously acquired phonocardiogram (PCG) signals at the heart and photoplethysmography (PPG) signals at the carotid. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of in-vivo measurements of hcPWV in 30 subjects and examine its association with cfPWV. The agreement between hcPWV and cfPWV was assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). The study demonstrated that the measured signal provided repeatable beat-to-beat pulse transit time (PTT) with a CoV <12%. The mean hcPWV and cfPWV values were 4.67 ± 0.95 m/s and 6.17 ± 1.17 m/s, respectively. A strong agreement was observed between hcPWV and cfPWV (r = 0.71, p <0.001), indicating good reliability of hcPWV on par with cfPWV. The findings suggest promising potential for hcPWV as a reliable measure, with implications for its use in settings where cfPWV is challenging to measure. However, while this study indicates a strong agreement, a comprehensive large-scale investigation is warranted further to validate the efficacy of hcPWV in comparison to cfPWV. In the future, this device can potentially be developed into wearable technology for self-measurement in homecare or ambulatory use cases.
