Arterial stiffness in elderly people: A comparison between SphygmoCor® and VaSera

Background: The arterial system stiffens over lifetime and correlates positively with the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Obesity and inactivity enhance this process. Currently diagnostic devices measuring arterial stiffness are applied in clinical settings and research studies. Nevertheless, there are still difficulties in selecting the most appropriate methodology to measure effects of physical activity and fitness on cardiovascular health.
Methods: To answer this question, we measured arterial stiffness with two commonly applied non-invasive devices in three different groups: Healthy old active (HOA), healthy old sedentary (HOS) and old sedentary at risk (OSR). The SphygmoCor® device measured the carotidfemoral – and the femoral-tibial pulse wave velocity (cfPWV and ftPWV) and the VaSera device measured the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). From the CAVI-data the brachialankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was calculated. The main outcome of the study is the comparison of the four parameters.
Result: cfPWV and baPWV showed a significant difference between all groups (cfPWV: F(2.143) = 8.583, p < 0.05; baPWV: F(2.154) = 3.350, p < 0.05). CAVI (p = 0.41) and ftPWV (p = 0.86) were nonsignificant. cfPWV showed a moderate, positive association with baPWV (r = 0.59, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The beneficial effects of a normal-healthy life can be demonstrated by cfPWV and baPWV on a macrovascular level. Concluding, that cfPWV and baPWV can be implemented as diagnostic devices for population wide cardiovascular risk stratification. There was no significant effect of physical activity and fitness on arterial stiffness.