Arterial stiffness in subclinical atherosclerosis through ultrafast pulse wave velocity measurements: Comparison with a healthy population using propensity score matching

Jiang, Xuezhong; Ge, Weiming; Huang, Hui; Li, Yating; Liu, Xiaojing; Pang, Huiyan; He, Rui; Wang, Hui; Zhu, Zhengqiu; He, Ping; Wang, Yinping; Ma, Xuehui; Ren, Airong; Shen, Bixiao; Wang, Meijuan

doi:.0.0.0

Original Article

Arterial stiffness in subclinical atherosclerosis through ultrafast pulse wave velocity measurements: Comparison with a healthy population using propensity score matching

Xuezhong Jiang¹, Weiming Ge¹, Hui Huang²

, Yating Li¹, Xiaojing Liu¹, Huiyan Pang¹, Rui He¹, Hui Wang¹, Zhengqiu Zhu², Ping He¹, Yinping Wang², Xuehui Ma², Airong Ren¹, Bixiao Shen², Meijuan Wang¹

¹Jiangsu Province Official Hospital, Nanjing, China
²Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese, Nanjing, China

Corresponding Author: Hui Huang ,Tel: /, Fax: /, Email: 13776664807@163.com

Received: March 21, 2024; Accepted: April 24, 2024. Published online: April 24, 2024.

ABSTRACT

Purpose:
To evaluate ultrafast pulse wave velocity (ufPWV) changes in arterial stiffness populations with subclinical atherosclerosis (subAS) and provide cutoff values.
Methods:
This retrospective study recruited 231 participants, including 67 patients with subAS. We measured the pulse wave velocity at the beginning and end of systole (PWV-BS and PWV-ES, respectively) using ultrafast ultrasound to assess arterial stiffness. The right and left common carotid arteries were measured separately, and laboratory metabolic parameters were also collected. Participants were balanced between groups using propensity score matching (PSM) at a 1:1 ratio, adjusting for potential confounders of age, sex and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). We determined the cutoff values of ufPWV in monitoring subAS via receiver operating characteristics (ROCs).
Results:
PWV-ES (all P < 0.05), unlike PWV-BS, was higher in the subAS subgroup than in the subAS-free group after PSM. For each 1 m/s increase in left, right, and bilateral mean PWV-ES, the risk of subAS increased by 23% (95% CI = 1.04-1.46), 26% (95% CI = 1.07-1.52), and 38% (95% CI = 1.12-1.72), respectively. According to ROC analyses, PWV-ES demonstrated predictive potential in in left (cutoff value = 7.910 m/s, P = 0.002), right (cutoff value = 6.615 m/s, P = 0.003), and bilateral mean (cutoff value = 7.415 m/s, P < 0.001), but not in PWV-BS (all P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
PWV-ES measured by ultrafast ultrasound was significantly higher in the populations with subAS than in those without. And specific PWV-ES cutoff values showed potential to predict an increased risk of subAS.

Keywords: Subclinical atherosclerosis; Ultrafast pulse wave velocity; Cutoff value; Propensity score matching