Changes in pulse wave velocity with age in man: a longitudinal series over 20 years.

Measurements of pulse wave velocity (PWV) carried out systematically in the same 60 healthy individuals over 20 years confirmed that average PWV progressively increases with age, and more rapidly after age 45. The PWV increase mainly results from the decreased extensibility of the thoracic aorta in the aortic-popliteat arterial system. This longitudinal study showed that PWVs of most individuals do not closely follow the average cross-sectional trend, but vary considerably in type. Therefore, PWV by itself is hardly a close correlate of an individual's physiological age or life expectancy. Individuals with a constantly high PWV or a late abrupt increase are exceptional; a possible relation to an increased mean arterial pressure and decreased arterial extensibility as in hypertonia is mentioned.