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Abstract —The objective of this study was to evaluate age-related changes in pulsatile arterial function. Aging alters arterial pulsatile function and produces consistent changes in the pressure pulse contour. A reduced systemic arterial compliance that can be derived from analysis of the pulse contour is regarded as the best clinical index of impaired pulsatile arterial function and may mark the presence of early vascular damage. We analyzed intra-arterial brachial artery waveforms in 115 healthy normotensive volunteers (83 men, 32 women) and radial artery waveforms obtained with the use of a calibrated tonometer device in 212 healthy volunteers (147 women, 65 men). A computer-based assessment of the diastolic pressure decay and a modified Windkessel model of the circulation were used to quantify changes in arterial waveform morphology in terms of large artery or capacitive compliance, oscillatory or reflective compliance in the small arteries, inertance, and systemic vascular resistance. Large artery compliance and oscillatory compliance correlated negatively with age for both invasive and noninvasive groups ( r =−0.50 and r =−0.55; r =−0.37 and r =−0.66; P

Abstract A noninvasive technique has been developed and validated for calculating capacitive and oscillatory systemic arterial compliance with the use of pulse wave analysis and a modified Windkessel model. Application of the technique to subjects with hypertension, postmenopausal women with symptomatic coronary artery disease, and appropriate control subjects has confirmed a reduction of oscillatory compliance in the disease states and an increase in capacitive and oscillatory compliances in response to vasodilator drugs. This method should be useful in screening subjects for early evidence of vascular disease and in monitoring the response to therapy.