Oscillometrically Measured Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity Reveals Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis in a Middle-Aged, Apparently Healthy Population

Table 2

Independent markers of asymptomatic carotid artery atherosclerosis by stepwise logistic regression analysis.

	Odds ratio and 95% confidence limits for 1 unit change
PWVao (m/s)	1.88 [1.44; 2.50]	<0.001
Smoker (yes/no)	3.79 [1.56; 9.22]	0.003
SBP (mmHg)	1.05 [1.001; 1.10]	0.046
DBP (mmHg)	0.94 [0.89; 0.99]	0.038

A stepwise logistic regression including age, gender, body mass index, smoking habits, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and PWVao showed aortic PWV, smoking, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure to be significant independent markers. PWVao, aortic pulse wave velocity; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure.