THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PULSE WAVE VELOCITY AND THE LEFT VENTRICULAR GEOMETRY

Abstract

Objective: Arterial compliance is reported to be a factor affecting left ventricular(LV) structure in hemodialysis patients. To elucidate the role of arterial stiffness on the geometric adaptation in the subjects of mild impairement, we investigated the relationship between pulse wave velocity(PWV) and the LV geometry in a small Korean population. Design and Methods : 128(33 hypertensive and 95 normotensive, age of 64.4(range:55-75)) subjects were analyzed for the PWV and echocardiogram. Echoardiographic indices were LV mass index, observed/predicted ratio(O/P ratio) of LV mass, relative wall thickness(RWT). Group I was defined by RWT < 0.43 and group II was defined by ≥ 0.43. Results: 1) PWVmean was correlated with systolic BP(β=0.567), age(β=0.280), relative wall thickness(β=0.460), total peripheral resistance(β=-0.286), and O/P ratio(β=-0.239)(adjusted R2=0.766, SEE=206.82, constant=-1143.71 ±300.24). 2) RWT is correlated with stroke volume(β=-0.453), PWVrt(β=0.363), O/P ratio of LV mass(β=0.567), and body mass index(β=-0.143)(adjusted R2=0.803, SEE,0.029, constant=0.267±0.028). 3) PWVrt(1853.58±459.39 vs 1568.29±291.21, p=0.057) and PWVlt(1873.83±425.93 vs 1585.78±296.60, p=0.003) were higher in group II(n=12) than groupI(n=116). O/P ratio of LV mass was also higher in group II than group I(127.17±20.98 vs 107.41±18.0, p=0.001) Conclusions: Pulse wave velocity is independently associated with relative wall thickness. It suggests that arterial stiffness may affect geometric adaptation of left ventricle.