Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity is taken as the gold standard for measuring aortic stiffness. It is the time taken for the arterial pulse to travel from carotid (as a surrogate of aorta which is not accessible for external measurements) to the femoral artery [1]. Pulse wave velocity increases as the arterial wall stiffness increases with age.

Other conditions which can increase the arterial wall stiffness are hypertension, diabetes mellitus and renal failure. The pulse wave velocity is measured from the propagation time for the pulse wave to travel from the carotid to the femoral artery, both being accessible for external measurements. Arterial tonometer can be used to record the waveform and the propagation time is measured from the foot of the carotid waveform to that of the femoral waveform with reference to the electrocardiogram.

In this case the measurement need not be simultaneous. Alternatively simultaneous measurement from both carotid and femoral arteries using mechano transducers can determine the propagation velocity from the peak upstrokes of both tracings. A study evaluated whether carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity is altered by obesity and concluded that it is not increased in obesity [2].

References

1. Millasseau SC, Stewart AD, Patel SJ, Redwood SR, Chowienczyk PJ. Evaluation of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity: influence of timing algorithm and heart rate. Hypertension. 2005 Feb;45(2):222-6.
2. Desamericq G, Tissot CM, Akakpo S, Tropeano AI, Millasseau S, Macquin-Mavier I. Am J Hypertens. 2015 Apr;28(4):546-51.