Correlations between measuring pulse wave velocity and physical activity in cerebrovascular disorder patients with hemiplegia

Abstract

The objective of this study was to measure brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in 200 cerebrovascular disorder (CVD) patients with hemiplegia (146 male and 54 females; 61 ± 11 years old) to investigate the clinical characteristics. The baPWV and ankle-brachial index (ABI) were measured to analyze the paralyzed and non-paralyzed sides using the formula PWV/ABI (Colin, Komaki). We examined the relationship between the obtained baPWV data and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The following results were obtained. (1) The baPWV was significantly higher on the paralyzed side than on the non-paralyzed side (p<0.0001), although the ABI was not different. (2) There was no significant difference in the baPWV on the paralyzed side between cerebral infarction and cerebral hemorrhage patients. (3) There was a positive correlation between the baPWV on the paralyzed side and age (r=0.56), and a negative correlation between the baPWV and FIM score (r = -0.29). In CVD patients with hemiplegia due to motor disorders, the baPWV was significantly higher on the paralyzed side, suggesting a decrease in the arterial extensibility due to motor paralysis. It was useful to understand the clinical characteristics.