Table 3.
Summary of recent studies showing the association between pulse wave velocity and carotid artery atherosclerosis.
| Source | Number of patients | Population | Mean age (years) | Design | PWV | Summary of findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fu et al. (80) | 81 | Acute ischemic stroke | 63 | Cross-sectional | ccPWV | ccPWV was independently associated with atherosclerosis between common carotid artery and middle cerebral artery |
| Yang et al. (83) | 738 | General population | 52 | Longitudinal | baPWV | Compared with baseline baPWV < 1,400 cm/s group, baPWV ≥ 1,400 cm/s group was significantly associated with the incidence of new carotid plaque formation even after adjusting for common risk factors |
| Sumbul et al. (74) | 312 | Hypertension | 55 | Cross-sectional | cfPWV | 0.1 mm increase of carotid IMT was associated with increased cfPWV by 50% |
| Zhao et al. (84) | 1,284 | Hypertension | 66 | Longitudinal | cfPWV | Baseline cfPWV was independently associated with an increase in IMT of ≥1.5 z-scores during the 4-year follow-up |
| Lu et al. (71) | 1,599 | General population | 73 | Cross-sectional | cfPWV and baPWV | Only cfPWV, but not baPWV, showed significant association with carotid IMT |
| Kubozono et al. (75) | 1.583 | General population | 56 | Cross-sectional | baPWV | Carotid atherosclerosis (IMT ≥ 1.0 mm) was significantly associated with high baPWV |
| Joo et al. (76) | 773 | General population | 55 | Cross-sectional | baPWV | Subjects with higher baPWV was associated with higher prevalence of carotid artery plaque |
| Li et al. (82) | 67 | Hypertension | 54 | Cross-sectional | hcPWV | hcPWV was positively associated with carotid IMT |
| Koivistoinen et al. (81) | 1,754 | General population | 30–45 | Cross-sectional | apPWV | baPWV was independently associated with carotid IMT in older adults (β = 1.233, P = 0.019) but not in young adults |
| Shen et al. (70) | 103 | Elderly | 69 | Cross-sectional | cfPWV | cfPWV was significantly correlated with IMT (r = 0.322, P = 0.031), but not severity of carotid stenosis (r = 0.157, P = 0.313) |
| Kim et al. (51) | 801 | Acute ischemic stroke | 64 | Cross-sectional | baPWV | Increased baPWV was associated with the presence of atherosclerosis (≥ 50% stenosis) in the intracranial cerebral artery, but not with atherosclerosis in the extracranial cerebral artery |
| Tomonori et al. (79) | 56 | Cerebral thrombosis | 65 | Cross-sectional | baPWV | baPWV was associated with the existence of carotid plaque (P < 0.001) |
| Masugata et al. (77) | 70 | Type 2 diabetes | 62 | Cross-sectional | baPWV | baPWV correlated significantly with the carotid plaque score (r = 0.37, P = 0.001) |
| Munakata et al. (78) | 68 | End-stage renal disease | 60 | Cross-sectional | baPWV | baPWV was an independent risk factor for both plaque score (β = 0.006, P = 0.004) and maximum carotid IMR (β = 0.008, P = 0.04) |
| Zureik et al. (73) | 564 | General population | 58 | Cross-sectional | cfPWV | cfPWV was positively associated with carotid IMT (r = 0.39, P < 0.001) and lumen diameter (r = 0.42, P < 0.001) in sex-adjusted analysis |
| Taniwaki et al. (72) | 271 | Type 2 diabetes | 51 | Cross-sectional | cfPWV | There was a significant positive relationship between the carotid IMT and cfPWV (r = 0.482, P < 0.0001) |
PWV, pulse wave velocity; ccPWV, carotid-cerebral pulse wave velocity; baPWV, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; IMT, intima-media thickness; hcPWV, heart-carotid pulse wave velocity; apPWV, aorto-popliteal pulse wave velocity.