Pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement is widely used for the indirect assessment of arterial wall distensibility. In order to improve its measurement technique, we built a system performing the calculation of the cross-correlation function of Doppler velocity signals. In 12 normal subjects and 10 patients, the mean difference between duplicate measurements was 0.7 +/- 7.8% (NS). We tested this technique in 15 elderly volunteers before and after a three months training period. Brachial and tibial systolic blood pressure decreased respectively from 18.1 +/- 2.2 kPa to 16.7 +/- 1.9 kPa (p = 0.008) and from 21.1 +/- 3.4 kPa to 18.4 +/- 2.5 kPa (p = 0.003), while lower limb PWV decreased from 8.96 +/- 1.26 to 7.92 +/- 1.22 m.s-1 (p = 0.016). Therefore, automatic PWV measurement using the cross-correlation technique allows to demonstrate training induced changes in PWV, although concomitant changes in blood pressure must be considered in their interpretation.
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