Noninvasive arterial compliance estimation.

Arterial compliance is an important cardiovascular parameter characterizing mechanical and structural properties of arteries and significantly influencing ventricular-arterial coupling. Decreased arterial compliance is associated with several physiological states and pathological processes. Furthermore, arterial compliance is influenced by other cardiovascular parameters even at short time scales. Today, there are numerous noninvasive methods of estimation arterial compliance in vivo introducing some level of confusion about selection of the best method for particular application and measurement setting. In this review, the most common noninvasive methods of arterial compliance estimation are summarized, discussed and categorized. Finally, interpretation of estimated arterial compliance in the context of other possible confounders is discussed.