Updated and revised normal values of aortic pulse wave velocity in children and adolescents aged 3-18 years.

Measurement of aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is recommended for stratifying individual cardiovascular (CV) risk in adults. Diseases in children and adolescents might influence aortic stiffness. It is necessary to exclude overweight (OW), obese (O) subjects, and individuals with increased systolic (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) from the population, when creating normal values of PWV in children and adolescents. Body mass index (BMI), SBP/DBP cut-off values have remarkably changed in this population during the last decade. Aims of our study were to expand our previously published PWV database and to revise it by using the recently determined normal values. PWV was measured by an occlusive-oscillometric device (Arteriograph, TensioMed Ltd, Budapest, Hungary) in a healthy population aged 3-18 years. 7940 (4374 boys) participants were recruited, 1912 OW/O subjects and 1368 individuals with high SBP/DBP were excluded. Finally, n = 4690 (2599 boys) participants were enrolled. Mean PWV values increased from 5.4 ± 0.6 to 6.4 ± 0.5 m/s (p < 0.05) in boys and from 5.5 ± 0.6 to 6.4 ± 0.5 m/s (p < 0.05) in girls. Mean PWV values were significantly lower in our new study, in boys in age groups of 9-16, in girls in age groups of 11-17. This is the largest and widest age-ranged database of PWV published to date. Due to the change of BMI and SBP/DBP reference values during the last decade, the "old" database of PWV needed to be revised. As a result of this, normal values of PWV decreased significantly in both sexes.