Medical Edge Newspaper Column

Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity (aPWV)

March 5, 2006
READERS:
A Mayo Clinic research team used a simple, noninvasive tool to discover an association between stiffness in arteries and the presence and amount of coronary artery calcium, leading to the possibility of more accurate assessment of heart disease risk in adults with no symptoms, according to a recently published study.

"About 40 percent of the American public is considered to be at moderate risk for heart disease," says Iftikhar Kullo, M.D., the lead author of the study. "Nearly half the heart attacks come without warning, which means we need to do a better job of screening people. This test has that potential."

The test, aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), measures how fast the pulse wave travels down the aorta, the major artery arising from the heart. It is a potential screening tool because it is quick (takes 10-15 minutes), painless, noninvasive and likely to be less expensive compared with other cardiac screening tests, Dr. Kullo says.

For the test, the patient lies on a bed and a pencil-like device (tonometer) is placed on the skin over the carotid artery (in the neck) and then the femoral artery (in the upper thigh). The tonometer measures the pressure wave inside the artery. A slower pulse wave means the artery is more elastic and healthier; a faster wave means the artery is stiffer and less healthy, he says.

The research found that study participants with stiffer arteries also had a greater presence and amount of calcium in the coronary arteries, an indicator of coronary atherosclerosis (plaque buildup).