Changes of Pulse Wave Velocity in Arm According to Characteristic Points of Pulse Wave

Pulse wave velocity has widely been used in the evaluation of atherosclerosis. In this study, we observed the change of pulse wave velocity according to characteristic points of pressure pulse waves which were recorded at brachial and radial artery. In order to evaluate the versatility of determination of the transit time between two points of measuring site, we measured PWV in seven methods : (1) the first derivative method, (2) the second derivative, (3) the minimum, (4) the intersecting a line tangent, (5) the maximum, (6) the middle point between minimum and maximum, (7) the intersecting two line tangents. Noninvasive brachial and radial pressure waveforms were recorded in 5 volunteers with external pressure transducers. The results showed that pulse wave velocity were dependent on the characteristic points.