Significant relationship between changes in brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity relative to blood pressure elevation and coronary artery disease.

Objectives: Based on well-established physiological theories, we studied correlations between changes in brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) relative to blood pressure (BP) elevation (elasticity of large-to-medium-sized arteries), and coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: The baPWV (in centimeters/second) and BP (in millimeters of mercury) were determined in 101 patients before, during, and/or after a cold pressor test using a volume-plethysmographic system.

Results: Significantly higher rates of increase in PWV relative to changes in BP were observed in the CAD(+) group than in the CAD(-) group when mean BP [median (25th-75th percentiles): 14.8 (8.3-24.9) vs. 8.6 (5.7-11.4) cm/s/mmHg, P<0.0001], and systolic [10.1 (6.0-17.5) vs. 6.4 (4.4-10.6) cm/s/mmHg, P=0.0023] and diastolic BP [21.0 (14.0-34.4) vs. 10.8 (6.8-16.1) cm/s/mmHg, P<0.0001] were used as BP indices. Similarly, the rates of increase in baPWV showed a significant correlation with the extent of CAD. The rate of increase in baPWV obtained using the mean, systolic and diastolic BP as indices showed an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.68-0.76, sensitivity of 65-75%, and specificity of 65-75% for the detection of CAD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity for the rate of increase were slightly higher than those for baseline baPWV and baseline baPWV/baseline BP ratio, but not to a significant degree.

Conclusion: The rate of increase in baPWV relative to BP elevation determined by cold pressor test is significantly and moderately correlated with CAD. To identify patients with CAD, the rate of increase in baPWV relative to changes in BP can provide considerable, but limited, information.