Backgroud: Aortic pulse wave velocity (aortic PWV) is the gold standard for evaluating arterial stiffness and can be measured using various noninvasive Methods: However, there has been few data comparing the repeatability and agreement of different methods within the same individuals. The objective of this study is to assess the intra-observer variation and the agreement of aortic PWV measurements using Vasera and SphygmoCor.

Methods: Aortic PWV measurements were performed in 22 healthy individuals (38.3±16.2 yr) using both Vasera VS-1500N and SphygmoCor. Double recordings with an interval of 5 minutes were undertaken by an experienced observer. The interclass correlation (ICC), coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated. Intra-observer differences between repeated measurements and the agreement of the two methods were also assessed using Bland-Altman plots.

Results: The ICC of the repeated aortic PWV measurements was 0.942 (0.866–0.976, 95%CI) for Vasera and 0.843 (0.644–0.931, 95%CI) for SphygmoCor. The mean difference of repeated aortic PWV measurements was 0.018±0.488m/s for Vasera and 0.177±0.670 m/s for SphygmoCor. The limit of agreement was −0.958 to 0.994 m/s and −1.163 to 1.517 m/s for Vasera and SphygmoCor, respectively. The CV was 3.3±3.9% for Vasera and 6.3±4.2% for SphygmoCor. The two methods showed good agreement (ICC=0.921, 0.821–0.967; 95%CI). The limit of agreement between the two methods was −1.066 to 0.998 m/s.

Conclusions: Aortic PWV measurement using Vasera had a better repeatability than using SphygmoCor. However, the two methods for assessing aortic PWV showed a good agreement.