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The aortic-femoral arterial stiffness gradient demonstrates good between-day reliability

Hypertension Research volume 44, pages 1686–1688 (2021)Cite this article

In a healthy cardiovascular system, arterial stiffness progressively increases from the elastic aorta to the muscular conduit arteries of the periphery. This stiffness gradient permits a gradual attenuation of the forward pressure wave into a smooth consistent blood flow and prevents the transmission of pulsatile forces to the microcirculation and endorgans [1]. However, aging and lifestyle factors may disrupt these beneficial phenomena [2]. In particular, the aorta tends to stiffen, whereas changes in lower-limb arterial stiffness, for example, are less marked [2]. These differential changes in stiffness lead to a reversal of the stiffness gradient, increasing forward pressure transmission, and contributing to end-organ damage [1, 3]. A recent study reported that the stiffness gradient between aortic and lower-limb arterial stiffness provided prognostic information beyond the carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity (cfPWV), a criterion measure of arterial health [4]. This measure provides a promising opportunity to gain meaningful insight into the hemodynamic integration of the vascular system. However, a measurement must have acceptable precision (reliability) to be of value in clinical and research settings. Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the between-day reliability of the aortic-femoral arterial stiffness gradient (af-SG).

Measures over the three visits are reported as averages and standard deviations (SDs). Between-day reliability was determined by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and minimal detectable change (MDC). The ICC was calculated as: SDb2/[SDb2 + SDw2], where SDb2 and SDw2 are the between- and within-subject variances, respectively. The SEM was calculated as SD*√(1 − ICC), and the MDC was calculated as 1.96*SEM*√2. MDC% was calculated as (MDC/mean) × 100, where the mean is the mean score of all trials. The ICC was used to interpret the strength of between-day reliability: poor (<0.5), moderate (>0.5), good (>0.75), and excellent (>0.9) [7].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sport and Exercise, University of Gloucestershire, Gloucester, UK

    Keeron Stone, Simon Fryer & Craig Paterson

  2. Department of Sport, Exercise & Health, University of Winchester, Winchester, UK

    James Faulkner

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Michelle L. Meyer

  4. Department of Exercise Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Kevin Heffernan

  5. Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Gabriel Zieff & Lee Stoner

  6. School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Danielle Lambrick

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  1. Keeron Stone
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Correspondence to Keeron Stone.

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Stone, K., Fryer, S., Faulkner, J. et al. The aortic-femoral arterial stiffness gradient demonstrates good between-day reliability. Hypertens Res 44, 1686–1688 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-021-00712-3

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