Reproducibility of arterial elasticity parameters derived from radial artery diastolic pulse contour analysis: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis

Objective The aim of this report was to describe the reproducibility of arterial elasticity parameters derived from radial artery diastolic pulse contour analysis. Methods Two measurements were taken on the same day by the same technician with the HDI/Pulsewave CR-2000 System on each of a subset of participants selected randomly from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Large and small artery elasticities (C1 and C2), C1 and C2 each multiplied by systemic vascular resistance (C1xR and C2xR, which are functions of the radial artery pulse waveform only), and systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP) were evaluated. Results Two measurements were taken of each of the 131 participants. The mean difference +/- standard deviation of the difference was -0.13 +/- 3.5 mmHg x 10 for C1, -0.03 +/- 1.5 mmHg x 100 for C2, 0.10 +/- 4.6 s x 10 for C1xR, 0.05 +/- 1.8 s x 100 for C2xR, 2.8 +/- 8.2 mmHg for SBP, and 1.5 +/- 5.0 mmHg for DBP. The between-measure correlation was 0.74 for C1, 0.84 for C2, 0.58 for C1xR, 0.74 for C2xR, 0.90 for SBP, and 0.86 for DBP. Conclusion The reproducibility of arterial elasticity measurements is less than that of SBP and DBP. Multiple measurements of arterial elasticity of a participant are recommended. Blood Press Monit 15:312-315 (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.