2024 Recommendations for Validation of Noninvasive Arterial Pulse Wave Velocity Measurement Devices

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases; Pulse wave analysis; Vascular stiffness

Malalties cardiovasculars; Anàlisi d'ona de pols; Rigidesa vascular

Enfermedades cardiovasculares; Análisis de ondas de pulso; Rigidez vascular

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness, as measured by arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV), is an established biomarker for cardiovascular risk and target-organ damage in individuals with hypertension. With the emergence of new devices for assessing PWV, it has become evident that some of these devices yield results that display significant discrepancies compared with previous devices. This discrepancy underscores the importance of comprehensive validation procedures and the need for international recommendations. METHODS: A stepwise approach utilizing the modified Delphi technique, with the involvement of key scientific societies dedicated to arterial stiffness research worldwide, was adopted to formulate, through a multidisciplinary vision, a shared approach to the validation of noninvasive arterial PWV measurement devices. RESULTS: A set of recommendations has been developed, which aim to provide guidance to clinicians, researchers, and device manufacturers regarding the validation of new PWV measurement devices. The intention behind these recommendations is to ensure that the validation process can be conducted in a rigorous and consistent manner and to promote standardization and harmonization among PWV devices, thereby facilitating their widespread adoption in clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: It is hoped that these recommendations will encourage both users and developers of PWV measurement devices to critically evaluate and validate their technologies, ultimately leading to improved consistency and comparability of results. This, in turn, will enhance the clinical utility of PWV as a valuable tool for assessing arterial stiffness and informing cardiovascular risk stratification and management in individuals with hypertension.

B. Spronck received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (No. 793805). A. Guala received funding from the La Caixa Foundation (LCF/BQ/PR22/11920008). A. Jerončić was funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (No. HRZZ IP-2018-01-4729). J.A. Chirinos was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01-HL121510, U01-TR003734, 3U01-TR003734-01W1, U01-HL160277, R33-HL146390, R01-HL153646, K24-AG070459, R01-AG058969, R01-HL104106, P01-HL094307, R03-HL146874, R56-HL136730, R01-HL155599, R01-HL157264, and 1R01-HL153646-01. S.S. Daskalopoulou is a senior clinician-scientist supported by a Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé Senior Salary award. VascAgeNet (CA18216: Network for Research in Vascular Ageing) is supported by European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST; www.cost.eu). G.L. Pierce was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01-AG063790) and the American Heart Association (19TPA34910016). A.E. Schutte was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Leadership Investigator Grant (application ID: 2017504). I. Tan was cofunded by ATCOR Medical.