Dual impedance cardiography: An inexpensive and reliable method to assess arterial stiffness

Abstract

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a common measure of arterial stiffness. Non-invasive methods to measure PWV are widely used in biomedical studies of aging and cardiovascular disease, but they are rarely used in psychophysiology. Barriers to wider use include the prohibitive costs of specialized equipment and need for trained technicians (e.g., ultrasonographers). Here, we describe an impedance cardiography method to measure PWV. By this method, impedance signals are dually collected from the thorax and calf. Combined with ensemble averaging of vascular signals, this dual impedance cardiography (d-ICG) method allows for the measurement of aortic flow onset and the arrival time of peripheral pulse waveforms to compute PWV. In a community sample of adults (aged 19-78 years), PWV measured with d-ICG exhibited a strong positive correlation with age. Moreover, age-specific mean PWV values were within the normative reference intervals established by large scale studies using other techniques. PWV derived from d-ICG exhibited high test-retest reliability across several days, as well as excellent interrater reliability. Lastly, PWV exhibited expected associations with known cardiovascular disease risk factors (i.e., blood pressure) and indicators of autonomic cardiovascular control. d-ICG is an inexpensive and reliable method to assess arterial stiffness.

An online Trier social stress paradigm to evoke affective and cardiovascular responses

“…Heart rate was only moderately correlated with both systolic ( r = .11) and diastolic blood pressure ( r = .38) at baseline (Table S2). The weak correlation between blood pressure and heart rate at baseline is consistent other studies of healthy adult samples ( r = |.03–.10|; DuPont et al, 2020; Scudder et al, 2021). As a result, two separate models were used to evaluate blood pressure and heart rate reactivity.…”

Resting (Tonic) Blood Pressure Is Associated With Sensitivity to Imagined and Acute Experiences of Social Pain: Evidence From Three Studies

“…There are at least three interrelated biological pathways by which associations might occur: the baroreceptor reflex arc, vascular stiffness, and endogenous opioids. Reduced functioning of the baroreflex and increased vascular stiffness, for example, may not only impair blood pressure control but also alter interoceptive information from the cardiovascular system conveyed to brain systems implicated in social pain (e.g., the cingulate and insular cortices; Inagaki et al, 2018; Scudder et al, 2021). The central action of opioids also confers sensitivity to social pain (Inagaki, 2018) and, separately, may underlie associations between resting blood pressure and sensitivity to physical pain (McCubbin et al, 2006).…”

Aging and cerebrovascular health: Structural, functional, cognitive, and methodological implications

“…However, PWV measurements require specialized equipment and trained technicians, which are not widely available to researchers. In the final article of this section, Scudder and colleagues (2021) propose the use of dual impedance cardiography (d‐ICG) to measure PWV from the thorax and calf and show that these measures strongly correlate with age and cardiovascular risk factors and are within the normative intervals for other established techniques, thus making d‐ICG an inexpensive and viable method to assess the degree of peripheral arteriosclerosis in the laboratory. These measures are synergistic with measures of cerebral arterial stiffening based on optical methods and reviewed by Zimmerman and colleagues (2021; see also Chiarelli et al., 2017; Fabiani, Low, et al., 2014; Tan et al., 2017).…”