Areas under peripheral pulse waves: a potential marker of atherosclerotic changes

<p>OBJECTIVE: In this study, we propose a method for finding&#13: atherosclerotic changes based on the ratios of areas under peripheral arterial pulse&#13: wave (PW) contours and analyze its performance.</p><p>APPROACH: The PW signals&#13: were recorded with force sensors and photoplethysmographic sensors from ankle,&#13: wrist, cubital fossa, index finger and second toe from 30 atherosclerotic patients&#13: and 52 control subjects. In addition, day-to-day repeatability of the method&#13: was studied with 10 test subjects examined on 3 different days. The ratios of&#13: areas under the PWs were computed and the results were evaluated by means&#13: of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, intra-class correlation (ICC)&#13: coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis.</p><p>MAIN RESULTS: Areas under&#13: ROC curves of 0.802-0.906 were found for different area ratios having statistically&#13: significant differences between the atheroslerotic group and control groups. ICCs&#13: over 0.80 were found widely for the beat-by-beat analyzed data and over 0.95 for&#13: the data based on the averages over different numbers of PWs. Multiple linear&#13: regression analysis showed linear dependence between the area ratios and age&#13: and the diagnosis of atherosclerosis.</p><p>SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings may facilitate&#13: development of novel diagnostic approaches and preventive strategies against&#13: cardiovascular disorders. However, further studies are needed to confirm the&#13: results. The presented study demonstrates the potential of arterial PW analysis&#13: in finding vascular abnormalities.&#13.</p>