Doppler ultrasound in the measurement of pulse wave velocity: agreement with the Complior method

• Published in: Cardiovascular ultrasound Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 13
• Main Authors: Calabia, Jordi, Torguet, Pere, Garcia, Maria, Garcia, Isabel, Martin, Nadia, Guasch, Bernat, Faur, Diana, Vallés, Martí
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 15-04-2011; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Blood Flow Velocity; Blood Pressure Determination - instrumentation; Blood Pressure Determination - methods; Cardiovascular Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Cardiovascular system; Cohort Studies; Diseases; Doppler ultrasonography; Ecografia Doppler; Female; Humans; Hypertension - diagnostic imaging; Malalties; Male; Middle Aged; Observer Variation; Prevenció; Prevention; Pulsatile Flow; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sistema cardiovascular; Ultrasonography, Doppler - instrumentation; Ultrasonography, Doppler - methods; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1476-7120; 1476-7120
• DOI: 10.1186/1476-7120-9-13

Aortic stiffness is an independent predictor factor for cardiovascular risk. Different methods for determining pulse wave velocity (PWV) are used, among which the most common are mechanical methods such as SphygmoCor or Complior, which require specific devices and are limited by technical difficulty in obtaining measurements. Doppler guided by 2D ultrasound is a good alternative to these methods. We studied 40 patients (29 male, aged 21 to 82 years) comparing the Complior method with Doppler. Agreement of both devices was high (R = 0.91, 0.84-0.95, 95% CI). The reproducibility analysis revealed no intra-nor interobserver differences. Based on these results, we conclude that Doppler ultrasound is a reliable and reproducible alternative to other established methods for the measurement of aortic PWV.