Assessment of Arterial Stiffness Index Calculated from Accelerated Photoplethysmography

Abstract

Objective: An Arterial Stiffness Index (ASI) can be obtained by measuring finger photoplethysmogram using the SB200 pulse oximeter, giving a level between 1 and 6. However, it was unclear whether this method accurately reflected arterial stiffness. Brachial–Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (baPWV) is an established method for the assessment of arterial stiffness, allowing us to compare baPWV and our own ASI. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 18 patients scheduled for neuroendovascular therapy in the Department of Neurosurgery at Osaka University Hospital between March 2016 and December 2016, for whom both baPWV and SB200 measurements were performed prior to their procedure. This allowed us to assess the relationship between the ASI and the baPWV. We defined patients with an ASI ≥ 3 on the SB200 as the progressed arterial stiffness group, while patients with a level of ≤2 were considered normal. BaPWV was compared across the two groups. We also analyzed the receiver operating characteristic curve for predicting baPWV values ≥ 1700 cm/s by the ASI measurement. Results: The progressed arterial stiffness group showed significantly higher baPWV values (p = 0.0087). The area under the curve for the ASI was 0.84. The ASI of 3 had a sensitivity of 71.4% and a specificity of 90.1% for predicting baPWV ≥ 1700 cm/s. Conclusion: We conclude that the non-invasive and portable SB200 device successfully measured arterial stiffness.

Keywords

• Arterial stiffness
• endovascular therapy
• baPWV
• arterial stiffness index