Digital photoplethysmography parameters EEI, AI, and b/a demonstrated good repeatability and strong correlations (r > 0.70) with applanation tonometry augmentation index for assessing arterial stiffness.
Cross-Sectional (n=112)
No
Does digital photoplethysmography provide repeatable and comparable measurements of arterial stiffness compared to applanation tonometry in pregnant and non-pregnant individuals?
Digital photoplethysmography parameters, specifically EEI, AI, and b/a, show good repeatability and correlate well with applanation tonometry, offering a potential operator-independent alternative for assessing arterial stiffness.
INTRODUCTION: Arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and can be assessed by applanation tonometry by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (AIX) by pressure pulse wave analysis (PWA). As an inexpensive and operator independent alternative, photoelectric plethysmography (PPG) has been introduced with analysis of the digital volume pulse wave (DPA) and its second derivatives of wave reflections. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to investigate the repeatability of arterial stiffness parameters measured by digital pulse wave analysis (DPA) and the associations to applanation tonometry parameters. METHODS AND RESULTS: 112 pregnant and non-pregnant individuals of different ages and genders were examined with SphygmoCor arterial wall tonometry and Meridian DPA finger photoplethysmography. Coefficients of repeatability, Bland-Altman plots, intraclass correlation coefficients and correlations to heart rate (HR) and body height were calculated for DPA variables, and the DPA variables were compared to tonometry variables left ventricular ejection time (LVET), PWV and AIX. No DPA variable showed any systematic measurement error or excellent repeatability, but dicrotic index (DI), dicrotic dilatation index (DDI), cardiac ejection elasticity index (EEI), aging index (AI) and second derivatives of the crude pulse wave curve, b/a and e/a, showed good repeatability. Overall, the correlations to AIX were better than to PWV, with correlations coefficients >0.70 for EEI, AI and b/a. Considering the level of repeatability and the correlations to tonometry, the overall best DPA parameters were EEI, AI and b/a. The two pansystolic time parameters, ejection time compensated (ETc) by DPA and LVET by tonometry, showed a significant but weak correlation. CONCLUSION: For estimation of the LV function, ETc, EEI and b/a are suitable, for large artery stiffness EEI, and for small arteries DI and DDI. The only global parameter, AI, showed a high repeatability and the overall best correlations with AIX and PWV.
Wowern et al. (Thu,) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy volunteers (pregnant and non-pregnant) (n=112). Digital Photoplethysmography (Meridian DPA) vs. Applanation Tonometry (SphygmoCor) was evaluated on Repeatability and correlation of DPA parameters with tonometry. Digital photoplethysmography parameters EEI, AI, and b/a demonstrated good repeatability and strong correlations (r > 0.70) with applanation tonometry augmentation index for assessing arterial stiffness.
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