Noninvasive assessment of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity

Abstract

The travelled cf path is slightly longer at the right than at the left body side and the straight MRI distance tends to perform better than tape measure distance. The present study supports the advice of the expert consensus group to measure cf-PWV at the right body side using a sliding caliper when tape measure distance cannot be obtained in a straight line.

Association of Bilateral Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity Difference with Peripheral Vascular Disease and Left Ventricular Mass Index

“…Third, we had no data of direct comparison between bilateral baPWV and carotid-femoral PWV difference. Fourth, the travelled path was longer at the right than at the left body side [44], which might contribute to the bilateral baPWV difference. Finally, since the subjects of this study were already being evaluated for heart disease by echocardiography, it was susceptible to selection bias, making findings potentially less generalized.…”

Asymmetry in prevalence of femoral but not carotid atherosclerosis

“…However, to provide more conclusive evidence for this hypothesis, information on the arterial anatomy on an individual basis is warranted. Instead, we had to base our assumptions on averaged anatomical data found in the literature, including our own MRI-based research in a different healthy population [11].…”

“…In particular, the right iliofemoral trajectory has been shown to cover a significantly longer [11], more curved [12] path than its contralateral counterpart. In contrast, close to the measurement site, left and right carotid arteries run in a reasonably similar, almost parallel course [13], limiting the amount of anatomical asymmetry [11].…”

Recommendations for Improving and Standardizing Vascular Research on Arterial Stiffness

“…Although conversion factors between the different cfPWV values obtained with different methods to assess TD are available from collaborative projects (139), this panel recommends to use either the “subtraction method“ (suprasternal notch – femoral recording site minus suprasternal notch – carotid recording site) or the “80 % method“ (80% of the measured direct distance between carotid and femoral recording site) to estimate TD for cfPWV. Additionally, the use of calipers may improve distance measurements particularly in overweight or obese subjects (302;303). …”