Study On The Validity Of AVI And API In Evaluating Arterial Stiffness

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of AVI and API as arterial stiffness indices through analyzing the correlations of AVI,API with age and baPWV.Methods: Volunteers were randomly recruited in the Physical Examination Center.For each volunteer,AVI,API and left brachial blood pressures(BPs)were measured using the arterial pulse velocity detector and baPWV was measured for using an arterial stiffness device(BP-203RPEIII).Moreover,demographic data were recorded,which mainly included age,gender and the results of blood examination.The Pearson correlation analysis was employed to study the correlations between AVI,API and age,baPWV.The differences of measured data between the hypertension subgroup and an age-gender-matched healthy subgroup were examined by t test.Multiple stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with AVI,API and baPWV.Results: 140 volunteers were enrolled,including 110 healthy subjects(age,47.40±14.38)and 30 subjects with hypertension(age,53.50±10.60).Statistical analyses showed that AVI correlated significantly with both age(r=0.706,P=0.000)and baPWV(r=0.599,P=0.000).Although API correlated with age and baPWV as well,the degrees of correlation were much weaker than those of AVI.Compared with healthy subjects,the 30 subjects with hypertension had statistically higher mean AVI,API and baPWV.Multiple stepwise regression analyses revealed that the independent predictors were age,SBP and gender for AVI,PP,DBP and gender for API,and age and SBP for baPWV.Conclusion: AVI had a similar performance with baPWV in detecting increased arterial stiffness caused by aging or hypertension.As a stiffness index of peripheral(i.e.,brachial)artery,API exhibited a poor correlation with age in the healthy subjects,nonetheless,API was higher in subjects with hypertension,implying that it may have certain value in evaluating the arterial status of patients with cardiovascular disease.