Introduction: Aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) and augmentation index (AIx) are tools to assess aortic stiffness. This study examined the relationship between aPWV using a validated, direct method, results from pulse wave analysis (PWA), using the indirect method from tonometry at the radial artery (via the SphygmoCor).

Methods: aPWV was measured as the speed of aortic waveforms between a) the junctions of left subclavian and aortic arch and b) bifurcation of the abdominal aorta, using Doppler probes. PWA was undertaken immediately after aPWV measurement in all participants.

Results: High quality data were obtained from 33 postnatal, healthy women aged 22–44y, with mean systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) of 109.9/66.2 mmHg (95% CI: 105.8–114/63.4–69.1). Correlation coefficients for aPWV and AIx (Augmentation Index), AP (augmentation pressure) were only 0.18 and 0.09, not ‘significant’. Factors affecting these parameters were as follows: age (both), 2-hour glucose levels from the glucose tolerance test (GTT) influenced AP (r = 0.67, p = 0.047) and SBP for aPWV (r = 0.39, p = 0.027).

Conclusions: Different factors affect aortic stiffness as assessed by these methods, young, healthy women in our study group.