Objective: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure of arterial stiffness and a marker for cardiovascular disease. Although commonly used, there are only a few reports investigating the intersession and intrasession variability in PWV measurements, the determination of which is important in a mixed population when using PWV as a clinical marker. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the variability in PWV measurements and factors that may influence PWV variability.
Methods: A male population (n=8, age 30.9 ± 9.0 years; BMI 25.1 ± 4.0 kg/m(2)) underwent measurements of PWV and blood pressure several times in a single study visit and during six study visits over a 4-6-week period. During these study visits, experiments were performed at rest and following acute exercise and feeding.
Results: Intersession coefficients of variation (CVs) were 5.3 and 4.5% for radial-carotid (R-C) and carotid-femoral (C-F) PWVs, respectively, whereas intrasession CVs were 9.3 and 6.9% for R-C and C-F PWVs, respectively. Good reproducibility in PWV measurements was demonstrated by individual responses in the data; two of eight participants had significant differences in C-F PWV over time (P=0.05). There were significant increases in systolic blood pressure following acute exercise (P<0.0001) and feeding (P=0.05), but there were no consistent changes in PWV measurements.
Conclusion: These data demonstrate the reproducibility of PWV and that PWV measurements are not acutely influenced by the metabolic state. This has implications for the use of PWV in human intervention trials where a mixed population is being investigated.