Invasive validation of the Complior Analyse in the assessment of central artery pressure curves: a methodological study.

INTRODUCTION

Arteries are the target, the place, and the common denominator of cardiovascular diseases; hence, study of arterial function is of greatest importance in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of carotid pulse wave analysis using the new version of the Complior device--the Complior Analyse.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This was a cross-sectional study that included 15 patients (seven women), mean age 62.07±10.59 years, referenced for cardiac catheterization. Pressure curves were obtained simultaneously in the ascending aorta (invasively) and in the right common carotid artery (using the Complior Analyse). Mean central arterial pressures, augmentation indexes, and wave morphology obtained using both methods were compared. A good concordance between methods was obtained for all the parameters measured, with intraclass correlation coefficients above 0.9. Bland-Altman analysis also indicated a good accuracy profile of the Complior device, with small mean differences observed for all parameters and most values confined within 2 SD of the mean difference. This was further confirmed by the strong Pearson correlation coefficients, with r² coefficients above 0.92 for all the variables studied. The correlations observed were independent of sex, age, arterial pressure, and BMI.

CONCLUSION

The results presented and available research clearly indicate that the Complior Analyse device measures carotid pressure waves accurately; therefore, it is a simple and reliable noninvasive alternative for pressure wave analysis.