Pulse Wave Analysis by Applanation Tonometry for the Measurement of Arterial Stiffness

The aim of our study was to investigate the association between pulse wave velocity (PWV) and pulse wave analysis (PWA)-derived measurements for the evaluation of arterial stiffness. A total of 20 (7 male and 13 female) healthy, non-smoking individuals, with mean age 31 +/- 12years were included. PWV and PWA measurements were performed using a SphygmoCor apparatus (Atcor Medical Blood Pressure Analysis System, Sydney Australia). PWV significantly correlated with all central aortic haemodynamic parameters, especially with pulse pressure (PP) (p < 0.0001), augmentation index corrected for 75 pulses/min (AI75) (p = 0.035) and augmentation pressure (AP) (p = 0.005). Male subjects presented significantly higher PWV compared with females (p = 0.03), while there were no differences in PP, AP and AI75. In conclusion, PWA is strongly correlated with PWV as a method for the evaluation of arterial stiffness.