Key result
Arterial occlusion pressure measured using continuous wave Doppler ultrasound (121.3 mmHg) was not significantly different from pulse wave Doppler ultrasound (121.7 mmHg; P=0.3641).
Why the study?
Arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) is recommended before blood flow restriction training, but previous studies had not compared AOP measures across two commonly reported cuff inflation methods.
Does continuous wave Doppler ultrasound with manual cuff inflation provide comparable arterial occlusion pressure measurements to pulse wave Doppler with rapid cuff inflation?
Cross-Sectional (n=41)
Does continuous wave Doppler ultrasound with manual cuff inflation provide comparable arterial occlusion pressure measurements to pulse wave Doppler with rapid cuff inflation?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
A hand-held continuous wave Doppler device and manual handpump/gauge provide comparable arterial occlusion pressure measurements to more complex pulse wave Doppler and rapid inflation systems.
CONTEXT: It is recommended that arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) should be measured prior to the use of blood flow restriction training. Previous studies have not compared measures of AOP when using 2 methods of cuff inflation commonly reported in the literature. DESIGN: A cross-sectional observational study was used to compare the measurement of brachial artery AOP as measured using pulse wave Doppler ultrasound (PWDOP) and continuous wave Doppler ultrasound (CWDOP) devices when inflating the cuff with a research/clinical-grade Hokanson (HOK) rapid cuff inflation system and manually (MAN) with a hand pump and gauge. METHODS: We made simultaneous measures of brachial artery AOP in 20 males and 21 females using PWDOP and CWDOP devices when using HOK and MAN cuff inflation methods. Data were analyzed with a linear mixed model analysis of variance and Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: There was not a significant main effect for the overall differences in AOP as measured using PWDOP (121.7 ± 14.7 mmHg) and CWDOP (121.3 ± 14.5 mmHg; P = .3641). There was a significant overall main effect for AOP measured using the HOK (122.7 ± 14.6 mmHg) and MAN (120.3 ± 14.6 mmHg) cuff inflation methods (P < .0001) and between males (128.2 ± 13.7 mmHg) and females (115.2 ± 12.5 mmHg; P = .0034). Bland-Altman plots revealed minimal bias and reasonable limits of agreement between PWDOP and CWDOP measures of AOP when using HOK (0.8 mmHg; 95% CI, -4.7 to 3.0 mmHg) and MAN (0.4 mmHg; 95% CI, -5.3 to 4.5 mmHg) cuff inflation methods. CONCLUSIONS: The cessation of an audible pulse using CWDOP is in agreement with the complete obstruction of the arterial blood flow observed using PWDOP. Although statistically significant, small differences in PWDOP and CWDOP measures of AOP when using HOK and MAN cuff inflation methods are of little practical significance. A hand-held CWDOP device and a handpump/gauge can be used to measure AOP.
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Vehrs et al. (2025) reported a cross-sectional. Pulse wave Doppler ultrasound (PWDOP) vs. Continuous wave Doppler ultrasound (CWDOP) was evaluated on Arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) (p=.3641). Arterial occlusion pressure measured using continuous wave Doppler ultrasound (121.3 mmHg) was not significantly different from pulse wave Doppler ultrasound (121.7 mmHg; P=0.3641).
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