102
Dynamics
of
the Vascular
System
about
5
m/s in the ascending aorta to about
10
m/s
in the femoral artery,
higher in the tibia1 artery.
Pulse wave velocity estimated from the peaks, or the peak-to-peak
velocity, can give considerable errors, although the peak
of
the pulse is
frequently easier to identify than that the foot.
This stems from the fact
that the peak of the pressure pulse is often contaminated with reflected
waves, since it allows sufficient time for reflected waves to arrive at the
measurement sites.
c
m/s
ARCH
DIAPH.
BIF.
ING.
LIG.
KNEE
II
I
I
I
II
I
I
I
II
I
I
I
II
I
I
II
I
I
lliacprn. Tibia1
Carotid
IAsc.l
Thor.
Aorta
I
Abd. Aortal
II
I
I
r4ortq
I
I
II
I
II
I
I
I
I
/I
I
4:
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
'I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
1
I
I
cm
from Arch
0
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Fig.
4.3.2:
Pulse wave velocity recorded
as
foot-to-foot velocity measured in different
arteries. Higher wave velocity in smaller arteries are seen.
From
Nichols and McDonald,
(1972).
With changing geometry and elastic properties away from the
ascending aorta, the pulse wave velocity also changes. This
is
seen from
the Moens-Korteweg formula for estimating pulse wave velocity:
I
Eh
(4.3.6)
