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Lookup NU author(s): Professor John AllenORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The photoplethysmogram (PPG) signal is widely measured by clinical and consumer devices, and it is emerging as a potential tool for assessing vascular age. The shape and timing of the PPG pulse wave are both influenced by normal vascular aging, changes in arterial stiffness and blood pressure, and atherosclerosis. This review summarizes research into assessing vascular age from the PPG. Three categories of approaches are described: 1) those which use a single PPG signal (based on pulse wave analysis), 2) those which use multiple PPG signals (such as pulse transit time measurement), and 3) those which use PPG and other signals (such as pulse arrival time measurement). Evidence is then presented on the performance, repeatability and reproducibility, and clinical utility of PPG-derived parameters of vascular age. Finally, the review outlines key directions for future research to realize the full potential of photoplethysmography for assessing vascular age.
Author(s): Charlton PH, Paliakaite B, Pilt K, Bachler M, Zanelli S, Kulin D, Allen J, Hallab M, Bianchini E, Mayer CC, Terentes-Printzios D, Dittrich V, Hametner B, Veerasingam D, Zikic D, Marozas V
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology
Year: 2022
Volume: 322
Issue: 4
Pages: H493-H522
Print publication date: 01/04/2022
Online publication date: 02/03/2022
Acceptance date: 21/12/2021
ISSN (print): 0363-6135
ISSN (electronic): 1522-1539
Publisher: American Physiological Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00392.2021
DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00392.2021
PubMed id: 34951543