The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is a new index of arterial stiffness that can be measured with a VaSera VS-1000 device. An association between certain arterial stiffness indices and cardiac function has been found but has not yet been validated. The aim of this study was to establish whether any significant relationship exists between cardiac index (CI) and CAVI. Twenty healthy male volunteers with a mean age of 30 ± 5 years and a mean BMI of 23.1 ± 1.1 kg/m2 participated in the study. CO was estimated using a Doppler technique, and CAVI was measured with a VaSeraVS-1000 device. A motorised tilting table was used to achieve head-up tilt (HUT) angles of 0°, 30°and 60°, to modify the peripheral sympathetic outflow. We found that there was a significant inverse correlation between CI and the degree of head-up tilt, ( for 0°and 30°; for 0° and 60°, p < 0.001 for both; for 30° and 60°, ). CAVI showed a significant positive correlation relative with the degree of HUT, ( for 0° and 30°; for 0° and 60°; for 30° and 60°, for all). A significant negative correlation was found between CI and CAVI r = - 0.47, p < 0.05. Additionally, a significant p < 0.001 increase in PVR values was observed for increasing HUT values. In conclusion: An inverse relationship between CI and CAVI was shown; a decrease in cardiac output is associated with an increase in CAVI values at different degrees of HUT. This association provides further insight into the postural link between cardiac output and arterial compliance.

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Background: Doppler ultrasound of umbilical vessels is a technique for evaluating fetoplacental blood flow which is very important in high risk pregnancies like hypertensive pregnancies and can predict both fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Since the traditional methods are not good enough to assess uteroplacental and fetoplacental circulation, blood flow studies are used to assess fetal well-being in normal and hypertensive pregnancies. Aim: To measure the blood flow indices of umbilical artery using Doppler ultrasound in patients with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and healthy pregnant women. Methods: This is a case control study at which 60 participants, 40 with PIH and 20 with normal pregnancy at the third trimester were studied in Al Najaf Governorate. Doppler ultrasound of umbilical artery was performed for both, the patient and the control groups in which Resistive Index (RI), Pulsatility Index (PI) and Systolic to Diastolic ratio (S/D ratio) were calculated. Results: The mean ±SD of RI, PI and S/D of the umbilical artery were 0.63±0.11, 0.97± 0.33 and 2.9±1.38 respectively in the PIH group, they were higher than those of the control group (0.62±0.06, 0.91± 0.17 and 2.72 ± 0.41 respectively) at 33-36 weeks. However, differences were found to be insignificant as well as they were higher at 37-40 weeks. Conclusion: There are insignificant elevations of indices of the umbilical artery in PIH women with respect to those of normal pregnancy.