Arterial pulse wave propagation velocity in healthy dogs by pulse wave Doppler ultrasound.

The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) values in healthy dogs using pulse wave Doppler ultrasound. A secondary aim was to determine the feasibility of this method and to report the intra- and interobserver reproducibilities of the PWV in conscious dogs. The data were studied in 30 healthy, adult, male (n = 15) and female (n = 15) dogs. The time interval marked between the R wave peak of the electrocardiogram and the intersection of the blood flow wave upstroke of the Doppler spectrum with the baseline of zero frequency was determined for the carotid (T1) and for the femoral (T2) arteries. The distance covered by the pulse wave (L) was determined. The PWV was then calculated using the following formula: L/T2 - T1. The mean values of PWV calculated from the total sample (n = 30) evaluated were 13.41 ± 2.20 m/s. No significant statistical difference was observed for the PWV measurements between males (14.82 ± 3.18 m/s) and females (12.64 ± 2.45 m/s). The analysis revealed no intra nor interobserver differences. A reasonable reproducibility of the PWV measurements was showed by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and the coefficients of variation (CV). These data demonstrate that noninvasive vascular Doppler analysis is a feasible and reproducible method to determine the carotid-femoral PWV in dogs.