Analysis of the regional pulse wave velocity by Doppler: methodology and reproducibility

Increased arterial stiffness is observed in a number of cases. The analysis of the regional functional arterial properties is of interest to determine the role of a given risk factor on the vascular wall and in some diseases such as atherosclerosis. We analysed the pulse wave velocity (PWV) measured by the Doppler method with 2D guidance and its reproducibility in different arterial segments in 15 men with coronary artery disease. Regional Doppler PWV was defined as the distance between the extremities of a given segment divided by the transit time calculated by Doppler. Intra- and interobserver reproducibilities of the Doppler measurements were studied in all of the subjects. The variation coefficients were low, maximum at the level of ascending aorta and minimal at the level of iliac segment. This good reproducibility was validated by the Bland-Altman method. Moreover, using this Doppler technique, we found a progressive increase in PWV from the ascending aorta to the iliac segment. These data demonstrate that noninvasive Doppler analysis is a feasible and reproducible method to determine regional PWV.