Background: Arterial stiffness (AS) reflects morfo-functional modifications of elastic arteries due to aging and atherosclerosis.

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWVcf) represents an estabilished marker of aortic stiffness and predictor of cardiovascular mortality.

Recently, a new method for evaluating arterial stiffness based on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWVba) and capable to provide a stiffness index, CAVI (cardio-ankle vascular index), has been proposed.

Aim: to compare PWVba with PWVcf and to evaluate the corresponding relationships with age and blood pressure in healthy subjects and patients with major risk factors for atherosclerosis.

Methods: 46 subjects (19 controls; 27 patients with risk factors but without clinical cardiovascular disease; 31 women; age 43±18) were studied. PWVcf was assessed by the estabilished foot to foot method (Complior Artech, Paris); PWVba and CAVI were obtained by a commercially available system (Vasera Fukuda, Tokyo), recording simultaneously brachial and tibial sphygmogram, ECG and phonocardiogram (PGC). CAVI is derived from the stiffness index Beta, according to Bramwell-Hill formula.

Results: PWba was significantly correlated with PWVcf (r = 0.785, p<0.001); in Bland Altman analysis, all points but two were included into ± 2SD of mean difference (mean difference= 0.804 ± 2.17 m/s). CAVI, PWVba, PWVcf were directly correlated with age (r = 0.778, 0.595, 0.687; p<0.001) and pulse pressure (r = 0.504, 0.300, 0.422; p<0.001).

Conclusions: PWVba, an integrated index of aortic and femoro-tibial stiffness, shows good agreement with PWVcf. CAVI index seems to provide the best associations with age and pulse pressure.