Res Vestib Sci.
2024 Mar;23(1):16-23. 10.21790/rvs.2024.003.
The clinical significance of arterial stiffness in the differential diagnosis of vertigo
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Neurology, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- 2Department of Neurology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea
- 3Department of Medical Science, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Korea
- KMID: 2555347
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.21790/rvs.2024.003
Abstract
Objectives
Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a known indicator of arterial stiffness reflecting vascular damage. However, there are few reports of the relationship between PWV and dizziness/vertigo of a vascular origin. We investigated whether the PWV value could be useful as an ancillary measurement for identifying the etiology of dizziness/vertigo.
Methods
We enrolled dizzy patients from March 2016 to December 2018. The patients with posterior circulation stroke presenting with dizziness/vertigo were categorized as having central vertigo. The patients with vertigo due to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière disease, or acute unilateral vestibulopathy were categorized as having peripheral vertigo. The PWV value, ankle-brachial index (ABI), and traditional vascular risk factors were collected.
Results
We consecutively enrolled a total of 93 participants. The PWV values were higher in the central vertigo group (p<0.001), but ABI did not differ between the groups. Among the vascular risk factors, the number of patients with diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and male patients was significantly higher in the central vertigo group. The brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) values were higher in the central vertigo group, even after adjusting for confounding factors (p<0.01). The receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the sensitivity was 74% and specificity was 81% when the mean baPWV value was 14.78 m/sec.
Conclusions
Increased baPWV values were observed in patients with dizziness/vertigo due to stroke. Measurement of the baPWV value could be an ancillary test for evaluating the cause of dizziness/vertigo, even though more convincing evidence is still required.
