Work

Assessment of the Variability of an Echo-Doppler Method for Measurement of Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an indirect measure of elastic arterial stiffness. Although various methods have been established to measure PWV, the Echo-Doppler method for measuring thoracic aortic PWV (a-PWV) is a highly available and cost-effective technique within the cardiology clinic. The purpose of this study was to assess the variability of a-PWV using the Echo-Doppler method and identify the optimal number of measurements providing the least variability of a-PWV in paediatric patients and healthy controls. Methods: Eighteen patients with a dilated proximal aorta and 21 healthy controls with a normal-sized proximal aorta (10-18 years) were evaluated. Imaging was performed in 4 studies across 2 visits. Variability comparisons were performed for short-term, medium-term, intra-reviewer, inter-reviewer, and inter-sonographer variability and analysed via intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots. Results: The ICCs were highest for 10 beats. The combined group ICCs for the variability comparisons for 10 beats were short-term (0.743), medium-term (0.723) intra-reviewer (0.978), inter-reviewer (0.729), and inter-sonographer (0.823). Bland-Altman plots showed good agreement for all variability comparisons. Conclusions: This study has established that the measurement over 10 beats produces the lowest variability and is recommended when assessing a-PWV in both patients with a dilated proximal aorta and controls. Further, reproducibility remains high, even when accounting for sources of measurement variation, such as differences between sonographers, reviewers, and study visits.

Source: CJC Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease

DOI: 10.1016/j.cjcpc.2026.05.002

Authors: Raffaele J. Massarotto, Timothy J. Bradley, James E. Potts, Kandice Mah, George G. Sandor, Anita T. Cote