Increased pulse wave velocity and shortened pulse wave transmission time in hypertension and aging

We measured pulse wave velocity (PWV) and pulse transmission time (PTT) in 29 patients with hypertension, ranging in age from 37 to 73 years, in a series of 36 normal subjects with the same age range, and in an additional series of 44 normal subjects aged 18-35 years. PWV increases linearly with age for both normal subjects and patients with hypertension, with a corresponding significant decrease in PTT. There was a statistically highly significant (p < 0.001) increase in PWV in hypertension at all ages examined. The present simple noninvasive methods may be useful when evaluating risk factors for atherosclerosis and when evaluating response to therapeutic intervention.