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Pulse Wave Velocity
Pulse Wave Velocity: What It Is and How to Improve Cardiovascular Health
What is pulse wave velocity ?
Pulse wave velocity is an innovative metric used by the medical community to assess cardiovascular health.
Each time your heart beats, it induces a wave along the aorta and the arterial tree. This wave leads to blood-volume changes in the vessels that expand and contract in response to these changes. Pulse wave velocity is the propagation speed of this wave along the arteries. This measurement provides crucial insight into the elasticity of your arteries. Think of it like this: healthy arteries are like flexible rubber bands, easily expanding and contracting with each heartbeat, resulting in a low PWV. Stiff arteries, on the other hand, are more like rigid pipes, leading to a higher PWV. Keeping an eye on your PWV with Withings helps you monitor your arterial health, as lower numbers generally indicate better cardiovascular health and a reduced risk of conditions like high blood pressure.
Pulse wave velocity is usually measured between the carotid and the femoral artery using applanation tonometry. However, this technique requires an advanced equipment and a well-trained operator.
Thanks to Withings, there's now an easy way to get an indication of your cardiovascular health, at home.
Pulse wave velocity is used by the medical community to help provide a cardiovascular health assessment, and it is usually restricted to a clinical setting.
Our Body Comp and Body Scan scales bring this unique measurement home so that everyone can have a better picture of their health just by stepping on a scale. Knowledge is power, and the scales and Withings app have been designed to inform and inspire day-to-day behaviors that can add up to better long-term health.
How do our scales measure pulse wave velocity?
Withings Body Scan and Body Comp smart scales utilize a clever system to measure your pulse wave velocity. When you step on the scale, electrodes in the scale (and in Body Scan they're also in the handle) work together to track the speed of the blood flow wave from your heart to your feet. This measurement provides crucial insight into the elasticity of your arteries. To do this, our scales measure the time difference between blood ejection by the heart in the aorta and the arrival of the blood flow in the feet. The time it takes for the pressure wave to travel along the arterial tree is used by our scales to compute pulse wave velocity.
Discover our smart scales:
Anyone can lower pulse wave velocity
Lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet and exercise, controlling blood pressure and diabetes, and managing cholesterol levels can help improve pulse wave velocity measurements and consequently improve your overall cardiovascular health.
Our free Withings app provides educational in-app content that can empower you to make the lifestyle changes to improve long-term health.
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