Carotid-Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity in the Prediction of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Arterial stiffness (AS) is a predictor of coronary artery outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) is a commonly used method for assessing AS. This study aimed to assess the relationship between cf-PWV and clinical CVD events. Of the 786 studies identified, 19 studies were included in the final meta-analysis. Meta-analysis revealed that participants with high cf-PWV by 1 standard deviation (SD), 1 m/s, and cutoff points have a high pooled relative risk for CVD events (1 SD: 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-1.31; 1 m/s: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.07-1.18; and cutoff points: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.45-2.14) and CVD mortality (1 SD: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.15-1.31; 1 m/s: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04-1.14; and cutoff points: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.46-2.24). In addition, we found that the predictive value of increased AS was higher in patients with higher disease risk for total CVD events and CVD mortality than in other patients. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity is a useful biomarker to improve the prediction of CV risk for patients and identify high-risk populations who may benefit from aggressive CV risk factor management.