Age-related factors that confound peripheral pulse timing characteristics in Caucasian children

• Published in: Journal of human hypertension Vol. 19; no. 6; pp. 463 - 466
• Main Authors: Foo, J Y A, Wilson, S J, Williams, G, Harris, M-A, Cooper, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2005; Nature Publishing; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Age; Age factors in disease; Aging - physiology; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood Pressure; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular system; Care and treatment; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Clinical manifestations. Epidemiology. Investigative techniques. Etiology; Demographic aspects; Development and progression; Diastole; Diseases; Epidemiology; European Continental Ancestry Group; Female; Fingers - blood supply; Health Administration; Heart Rate; Humans; Hypertension; Investigative techniques of hemodynamics; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; original-article; Physiological aspects; Public Health; Pulse; Regression Analysis; Systole; Time Factors; Toes - blood supply; Vascular resistance; White people; pulse wave velocity; noninvasive BP monitoring; Human; Hypertension; Cardiovascular disease; Child; Monitoring
• ISSN: 0950-9240; 1476-5527
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.jhh.1001846

Characteristics obtained from peripheral pulses can be used to assess the status of cardiovascular system of subjects. However, nonintrusive techniques are preferred when prolonged monitoring is required for their comfort. Pulse transit time (PTT) measurement has showed its potentials to monitor timing changes in peripheral pulse in cardiovascular and respiratory studies. In children, the common peripheries used for these studies are fingers or toes. Presently, there is no known study conducted on children to investigate the possible physiologic parameters that can confound PTT measure at these sites. In this study, PTT values from both peripheral sites were recorded from 55 healthy Caucasian children (39 male) with mean age of 8.4±2.3 years (range 5–12 years). Peripheries' path length, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured to investigate their contributions to PTT measurement. The results reveal that PTT is significantly related to all parameters ( P <0.05), except for DBP and MAP. Age is observed to be the dominant factor that affects PTT at both peripheries in a child. Regression equations for PTT were derived for measuring from a finger and toe, (6.09 age+189.2) ms and (6.70 age+243.0) ms, respectively.