Background: PULSE WAVE VELOCITY ((PWV)) is widely used for estimating the stiffness of an artery. Various invasive and non-invasive methods have been developed to determine (PWV) over the years. In the present research, the non-invasive estimation of the (PWV) of large arteries was used as an index for arterial stiffness. Methods: A dynamic model based on the Navier-Stokes equations coupled to elasticity equations was introduced for the (PWV) in arteries with elastic walls. This system of equations was completed by clinical information obtained from the Doppler ultrasound images of the carotid artery of 40 healthy male volunteers. For this purpose, the Doppler ultrasound images were recorded and saved in a computer; and subsequently center-line blood VELOCITY, arterial wall thickness, and arterial radius were measured by offline processing. Results: The results from the analytic solution of the completed equations showed that the mean value of (PWV) for the group of healthy volunteers was 2.35 m/s when the mean arterial radius was used as the neutral radius and 5.00 m/s when the end-diastole radius was used as the neutral radius. It is noteworthy that the latter value closely complies with that reported by other researchers. Conclusion: By applying this method, a non-invasive clinical and local evaluation of the common carotid artery stiffness via a Doppler ultrasound measurement will be possible.

Background & Objective: Several indices have been introduced to estimate arterial stiffness that based on changes in brachial blood pressure. But because of the error resulted by the substitution of brachial blood pressure instead of the other central arteries, such as carotid, it will be very important to present elastic parameter based on the mechanical models without any emphasis on brachial blood pressure. In this study, estimation of PULSE WAVE VELOCITY of large arteries is used as an index for arterial stiffness. Materials & Methods: At first a suitable dynamic model is introduced for pulsatile blood flow in arteries based on Navier-Stokes equations in fluid mechanics. Then, according to the theory of elasticity, equations governing arterial wall is described and coupled to the equations of fluid flow. Attained system of equations is completed by clinical information that obtained from Doppler ultrasound images from carotid artery of healthy male subject. For this purpose Doppler ultrasound images were recorded and saved in computer and then center-line blood VELOCITY, arterial wall thickness, the period of a cardiac cycle and arterial radius measured by offline processing. Results: The results from analytic solution of completed equations showed that the (PWV) for this healthy subject is 2 m/s. Conclusion: By applying this method, non-invasive and clinical evaluation of arterial stiffness by Doppler ultrasound measurement of common carotid artery without any measurement of local blood pressure will be possible.

Introduction The present study aimed to compare the acute and chronic responses of blood pressure، arterial stiffness، and peripheral arterial disease to 11 weeks of two different high-intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols in hypertensive patients. Methods: This study was conducted on 31 hypertensive patients who were randomly assigned into SDHIIT (n=10)، LDHIIT (n=11)، and control (n=10) groups. The patients in the SDHIIT group were subjected to HIIT protocol، including 27 repetitions of 30 sec at 80-100% VO2peak with 30-sec recovery intervals at VO2peak of 10-20%. On the other hand، the LDHIIT group performed four repetitions of 4 min at 75-90% VO2peak interspersed by four 4-min recovery repetitions at the VO2peak of 15-30%. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure، PULSE WAVE VELOCITY ((PWV))، and ankle-brachial index (ABI) were measured before and after the first and last exercise sessions. Results: There was no significant differences between the two groups in terms of (PWV) after one session of training (P>0. 05). However، the SBP، DBP، and ABI significantly decreased in the two groups (P<0. 05). Considering the acute responses، a significant reduction was observed in the SBP (P=0. 03) and ABI (P<0. 01) in the LDHIIT and SDHIIT groups، respectively، after 11 weeks of training. Nonetheless، no significant difference was detected in (PWV) and blood pressure. Regarding the chronic effect of the two training protocols، the LDHIIT group showed a significant difference in all variables، except for ABI (P>0. 05). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study، both HIIT protocols improved blood pressure and hemodynamic factors in acute forms. However، SDHIIT was more effective than LDHIIT in the improvement of blood pressure and other variables in the long run.

Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in adults. Aside from history and physical examination, noninvasive tests are increasingly used to determine the presence of CAD. The aim of this study to was to detect whether myocardial strain and noninvasive aortic PULSE WAVE VELOCITY ((PWV)) analysis could be helpful in non-invasive assessment of extent of CAD. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 52 Patients were enrolled, assessed with echocardiography in a day before coronary angiography. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) and Aortic (PWV) were measured in echocardiography. Coronary artery stenosis was calculated in angiography. The statistical relationship between the presence and the extent of coronary stenosis, measured by (PWV) and strain reviewed and evaluation of the conformity of these two methods was compared with angiographic findings. Results: Of the 52 patients enrolled in this study, 37 were males (71. 15%) and 15 were females (28. 85%). Only GLS showed significant difference between two groups (normal coronary arteries or non-significant lesion versus significant CAD) in all three vessels (p value in LAD=0. 03, LCX=0. 04, RCA=0. 03). Otherwise, (PWV) did not show any significant difference. Results: Of 52 patients whom enrolled in this study, 37were male (71. 15%) and 15 were female (28. 85%). Only GLS showed significant difference between two groups (normal coronary arteries or non-significant lesion versus significant CAD) in all three vessels (p value in LAD=0. 03, LCX=0. 04, RCA=0. 03). Otherwise, (PWV) did not. Conclusion: In patients with suspected CAD, GLS assessed by 2D-STE at rest could be a predictor of significant coronary artery diseases. In contrast, arterial stiffness, measured noninvasively thorough (PWV), did not appear to be an independent factor in this context.

Dear Editor-in-Chief: Arterial stiffness assessed by the measurement of aortic PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (a(PWV)), is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality, in various population groups, including elderly people (1, 2). Left atrial size increases with age and is a predictor for age related first cardiovascular events (3).

Introduction. It is known that in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD), cardiovascular damage starts in the form of arterial stiffness. There are risk factors other than the traditional ones such as arterial stiffness hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and insulin resistance. Vitamin D deficiency is rather common in CKD, and it was introduced as a risk factor for atherosclerosis; however, its relationship with arterial stiffness is not known completely. The purpose of this study was to research the relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and arterial stiffness. Materials and Methods. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by measuring augmentation index (AI) and PULSE WAVE VELOCITY ((PWV)) from the radial and carotid arteries with a Vicorder. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured by an immunoassay method. Results. In the 81 CKD patients (mean age, 13. 21 ± 6. 02 years; mean body mass index, 19. 42 ± 5. 12 kg/m2; and 56. 8% male), the mean vitamin D level was 60. 71 ± 39. 52 ng/mL, the mean AI was 7. 93 ± 7. 77%, and the mean (PWV) was 9. 79 ± 4. 36 m/s. Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was correlated with AI (r =-0. 482, P = 0. 001) and (PWV) (r =-0. 57, P =. 001). Conclusions. In this study, it was proven that vitamin D deficiency in children was related to nondiabetic and nondialysis CKD.

Background: Vascular calcification is a predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, which can be evaluated by PULSE WAVE VELOCITY ((PWV)) and Coronary Artery Calcification score (CAC. s). Vitamin K-dependent matrix Gla protein (MGP) is an important inhibitor of calcification. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effect of high-dose vitamin k supplementation on vascular calcification. Methods: In this systematic review, a literature search in PubMed was undertaken with using the keywords “ vitamin k1 supplementation” OR “ phylomenadion supplementation” OR “ vitamin k2 supplementation” OR “ menaquinone supplementation” OR “ vitamin k3 supplementation” OR “ menadion supplementation” and “ calcification” , and then qualified articles were used. Results: Vitamin K1 supplement was not associated with dephosphorylated-uncarboxylated MGP (dp-uc MGP) level and (PWV) level. However, it was associated with less CAC progression. Vitim K2 supplement was correlated inversely with dp-uc MGP level and decrease in (PWV) but no difference CAC progression. Conclusion: Based on results that was obtained from this systematic review, we expressed conclusively that taking vitamin K supplements especially vitamin K2 can decrease inactive MGP levels and slow the progression of CAC in healthy older adults with pre-existing CAC and improve arterial stiffness.

Background: Hypertension is the main reason why the incidence of cardiovascular disease has increased year-by-year and early diagnosis of hypertension is necessary to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease. This also puts forward higher requirements for the accuracy of diagnosis. We tried a variety of feature selection methods to improve the accuracy of logistic regression (LR). Methods: We collected 397 samples from Nanjing, Jiangsu, China between Jan 2016 and Dec 2017, including 178 hypertension samples and 219 control samples. It includes not only clinical and laboratory data, but also imaging data. We focused on the difference of imaging attributes between the control group and the hyperten-sion group, and analyzed the correlation coefficients of all attributes. In order to establish the optimal LR model, this study tried three different feature selection methods, including statistical analysis, random forest (RF) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) and accuracy were used as the main criterion for model evaluation. Results: In the prediction of hypertension, the performance of LR with RF as the feature selection method (accuracy: 0. 910,AUC: 0. 924) was better than the performance of LR with XGBoost as the feature selection method (accuracy: 0. 897,AUC: 0. 915) and the performance of LR with statistical analysis as the feature selec-tion method (accuracy: 0. 872,AUC: 0. 926). Conclusion: LR with RF as the feature selection method may provide accurate results in predicting hyperten-sion. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and PULSE WAVE VELOCITY at the end of systole (ES(PWV)) are two key imaging indicators in the prediction of hypertension.

Background: Both increased arterial stiffness and hyperuricaemia are associated with elevated cardiovascular risks. Little is known about the relations of serum uric acid (UA) level to regional arterial stiffness and WAVE reflection. The aim of the study was to investigate the gender-specific association of serum UA and indices of arterial function in a community-based investigation in China.Methods: Cross-sectional data from 2374 adults (mean age 58.24 years) who underwent routine laboratory tests, regional PULSE WAVE VELOCITY ((PWV)) and PULSE WAVE analysis measurements were analyzed in a gender-specific manner. None of the participants had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, systemic inflammatory disease, gout, or were under treatment which would affect serum UA level.Results: Men had higher serum UA level than women. Subjects with hyperuricaemia had significantly higher carotid- ankle (PWV) in both genders (P<0.05), and the carotid-femoral (PWV) ((PWV)c-f) was higher in women (P<0.001) while the augmentation index was marginally lower in men (P=0.049). Multiple regression analysis showed that serum UA was an independent determinant only for (PWV)c-f in women (b=0.104, P=0.027) when adjusted for atherogenic confounders. No other independent relationship was found between UA level and other surrogates of arterial stiffness.Conclusions: Serum UA levels are associated with alterations in systemic arterial stiffness that differ in men and women. Women might be more susceptible to large vascular damage associated with hyperuricaemia.