The value of aortic pulse wave velocity in predicting coronary artery disease diagnosis and severity

Objective Aortic pulse wave velocity (AoPWV), one of the parameters showing arterial stiffness, has been investigated in different patient groups as a predictor of cardiovascular diseases.The purpose of our study is to investigate the correlation between AoPWV and coronary artery disease (CAD) and its severity. Methods and results One hundred and three patients who were not diagnosed with CAD but who were scheduled to have coronary angiography (CAG) with CAD suspicion were included in the study. PWV was measured with tonometry device before CAG. Patients were divided into two groups: with or without CAD. The Gensini score of each patient was calculated in the CAD group by several independent specialists. The average age of the patients was 55.2 +/- 8.5 (range 33-73 years). CAD was confirmed in 59 patients (49%). Average PWV in the CAD group was statistically more significant than in the non-CAD group (8.6 +/- 2.0, 5.0 +/- 1.8; P<0.001). A highly positive correlation was observed between CAD severity and PWV (r=0.838, P=0.001). In the CAD diagnosis, for an AoPWV cut-off value of 7.3 m/sec, the sensitivity was 83.1% and the specificity 86.4%. Conclusions Various non-invasive techniques are used in CAD prognosis. Besides being simple, these techniques are also required to show a high rate of accuracy in CAD prognosis. In this respect, AoPWV gains importance as being a non-invasive method that can be performed with a tonometry device at low cost in policlinic conditions.