Ultrasonography.  2024 Jul;43(4):263-271. 10.14366/usg.24045.

Arterial stiffness in subclinical atherosclerosis quantified with ultrafast pulse wave velocity measurements: a comparison with a healthy population using propensity score matching

• Jiang X
• Ge W
• Huang H
• Li Y
• Liu X
• Pang H
• He R
• Wang H
• Zhu Z
• He P
• Wang Y
• Ma X
• Ren A
• Shen B
• Wang M

• KMID: 2556693
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14366/usg.24045

Abstract

Purpose
This study aimed to evaluate changes in ultrafast pulse wave velocity (ufPWV) in individuals with arterial stiffness and subclinical atherosclerosis (subAS), and to provide cutoff values.
Methods
This retrospective study recruited 231 participants, including 67 patients with subAS. The pulse wave velocity was measured at the beginning and end of systole (PWV-BS and PWVES, respectively) using ultrafast ultrasonography to assess arterial stiffness. The right and left common carotid arteries were measured separately, and laboratory metabolic parameters were also collected. Participants were balanced between groups using propensity score matching (PSM) at a 1:1 ratio, adjusting for age, sex, and waist-to-hip ratio as potential confounders. Cutoff values of ufPWV for monitoring subAS were determined via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.
Results
PWV-ES, unlike PWV-BS, was higher in the subAS subgroup than in the subAS-free group after PSM (all P<0.05). For each 1 m/s increase in left, right, and bilateral mean PWV-ES, the risk of subAS increased by 23% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.46), 26% (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.52), and 38% (95% CI, 1.12 to 1.72), respectively. According to ROC analyses, predictive potential was found for left PWV-ES (cutoff value=7.910 m/s, P=0.002), right PWV-ES (cutoff value=6.615 m/s, P=0.003), and bilateral mean PWV-ES (cutoff value=7.415 m/s, P<0.001), but not for PWV-BS (all P>0.05).
Conclusion
PWV-ES measured using ultrafast ultrasonography was significantly higher in individuals with subAS than in those without. Specific PWV-ES cutoff values showed potential for predicting an increased risk of subAS.

Keyword

Subclinical atherosclerosis; Ultrafast pulse wave velocity; Cutoff value; Propensity score matching