Comprehensive assessment of coronary pulse wave velocity in anesthetized pigs

Abstract Background Coronary stiffness represents a new paradigm for interventional cardiology and can be assessed by coronary pulse wave velocity (CoPWV). Assessing CoPWV is complex because of the coexistence of backward and forward waves. Objectives Evaluate the feasibility, repeatability, and capacity of methods assessing CoPWV to detect predictable velocity changes. Methods CoPWV was measured from distal and proximal pressure guidewires in the left anterior descending artery of 10 pigs under general anesthesia. Four methods were studied: the tangent intersection method applied to the forward (FW) and backward (BK) waves, as well as the dicrotic notch (DIC) and template matching (TM) methods. All were evaluated at baseline, during various arterial pressure and heart rate conditions, during simulated flow limitation (balloon inflation), and after increasing coronary stiffness (stent insertion). Results All the methods were significantly different between them (p ≤ .05) showing a systematic trend toward higher CoPWV when compared to the FW method (.05