Arterial pulse waveform and pulse wave velocity

• Main Author: Yeo, Jay Sheng Quan
• Other Authors: Yeo Joon Hock
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67648
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Both age and stiffness of arterial wall have long been established as cardiovascular risk factors. Age has also been proven to be correlated to stiffness of arterial wall. Measurement of Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) gives a strong evidence in the determination of stiffness of arterial wall. This study sets to determine the correlations between the formulated Pressure Independent Indexes (PIIs) with established and proven cardiovascular factors such as age and PWV. The main objective is to formulate PIIs to better predict cardiovascular risk. In this study, radial arterial pulse waveform of 9 subjects, aged 19 to 55, were collected and used in the formulation of PIIs. Different PIIs were formulated and studied using different statistical analyses. Single-factor ANOVA and linear regression were used. All PIIs were found to have good correlation with both age and PWV. The ratio of D*/S* was found to have the strongest correlation with age and the ratio of D*/A was found to have the best correlation with PWV. The coefficient of determination values of r^2= 0.98564, 0.96095 and 0.97449 were obtained for age vs D*/A. The coefficient of determination values of r^22= 0.93532, 0.93788 and 0.90735 were obtained for PWV vs D*/S*. With the strong correlation found, recommendations were made for future studies based on the limitations of this FYP. Analyses on a larger sample group should be carried out to verify the correlation between D*/A with age and D*/S* with PWV, to determine the accuracy and viability as an indicator for measurement of cardiovascular risk. The ratio’s i relationships with other known cardiovascular risk factors are also areas for future exploration. The ratios should also be formulated from a variety of peripheral site measurements and have their correlation analyzed. The current study can be studied in relation to risk of Peripheral Cardiovascular Diseases (PVD), which can result and pave the way for the prediction of general cardiovascular risk.