Pulsatility of brachial artery pressure is associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease in men.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the pulsatility of brachial artery pressure is related to an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). On the basis of vascular mechanics, we recently reported that relative pulse pressure can predict the occurrence of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. We also hypothesized that relative pulse pressure of the brachial arterial pressure waveform is associated with an increased risk of CAD. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. PATIENTS: We enrolled 172 men who had the same cardiac performances. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We measured their brachial artery pressures with a sphygmomanometer. To quantify the relative magnitude of the pulsatility to diastolic pressure, we made use of the ratio of pulse pressure to diastolic pressure (PP/DP). We investigated the effects of the PP/DP in relation to the risk of CAD. RESULTS: PP/DP was associated with an increased risk of CAD. The prevalence rates of significant stenosis were 28.1% for the lowest, 43.1% for the middle and 49.1% for the highest tertile of PP/DP levels. The age-adjusted odds ratio of CAD was 2.23 (95% confidence interval 0.98-5.04) for the middle tertile of the PP/DP level and 2.55 (1.10-5.93) for the highest tertile compared with the lowest tertile. CONCLUSIONS: The pulsatility of the brachial artery pressure was associated with an increased risk of CAD.