Standardization of Arterial Stiffness Measurements Make Them Ready for Use in Clinical Practice.

Arterial stiffness can be measured as regional stiffness expressed as pulse wave velocity (PWV), local stiffness expressed as distensibility coefficient or PWV, and systemic stiffness. Many devices are commercially available to measure arterial stiffness of different vascular territories. However, not all vascular territories have shown predictive value for cardiovascular events.1,2 Predictive value has been shown for the local stiffness of the carotid artery (CA) and the femoral artery (FA).2,3 Arterial segments with predictive value are the carotid-femoral, brachial-ankle, cardio-ankle, and the aortic arch segments.2 Carotid–femoral PWV (cfPWV) also has “incremental” value, above and beyond classical risk scores. It can reclassify patients into higher and lower risk categories.1 Therefore, arterial stiffness should be determined noninvasively by the measurement of cfPWV. This has been recommended by the 2010 guideline for assessment of cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic adults of the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association (AHA), the 2013 guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Cardiology and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), and the 2015 AHA recommendations for improving and standardizing vascular research on arterial stiffness.1,4