The Feasibility of Measuring Central Blood Pressure with Bedside Echocardiography: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study.

Rationale and objectives: Central arterial blood pressure (CBP) is considered a more valuable prognostic marker of major cardiovascular diseases than peripheral blood pressure. Non-invasive evaluation of central aortic pressure by Doppler echocardiography is a hopeful tool, avoiding many complications of invasive catheter strategy and diminishing time and costs.

Methods: A total of 118 patients were referred for elective cardiac catheterization at the Cardiovascular Medicine Department, Mansoura University. Standard transthoracic echocardiography was simultaneously performed during invasive measurement of the central aortic pressure in the cardiac catheterization lab.

Results: A significant correlation existed between invasive systolic, diastolic, and mean aortic pressure and aortic deceleration time, with P-values of 0.0003, 0.0002, and 0.0002, respectively. A significant correlation was also found between invasive systolic, diastolic, and mean aortic pressure and aortic Velocity Time Integral (VTI), with P-values of 0.006, 0.0004, and 0.0004, respectively. A significant and more reliable equation existed to calculate mean or diastolic central blood pressure by transthoracic aortic deceleration time values.

Conclusion: Central aortic pressure can be measured non-invasively using Doppler echocardiographic parameters: Left ventricular Mass (LVM), aortic deceleration time, and velocity time integral during routine echocardiography examination using rational equations. This represents a promising technique for further research.