Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of pulse wave velocity and flow-mediated dilation in paretic and non-paretic limbs of older adults post-stroke.
5 affiliations
- 1School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 2St. John's Rehab, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- 3Medicine, the Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 4Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 5School of Physical & Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Abstract
Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are non-traditional risk markers after stroke, yet reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) of pulse wave velocity (PWV) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) have not been established. We examined test-retest reliability and MDC of carotid-femoral (cfPWV), carotid-radial (crPWV), and femoral-dorsalis pedis PWV (ffPWV), and absolute and relative brachial artery FMD in people >12 months post-stroke. Seventeen individuals (n = 4 (24%) females; 63.9 ± 8.6 years; 4.5 ± 2.8 years post-stroke) completed two bilateral assessments of PWV via applanation tonometry and FMD via duplex ultrasound within 1 week. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) were calculated via two-way random-effects models, and MDC derived at 68%, 90%, and 95% confidence levels. We found good-to-excellent reliability for cfPWV in paretic (ICC2,1 = 0.85; 95% CI:0.59, 0.95) and non-paretic (ICC2,1 = 0.94; 95% CI:0.82, 0.98) limbs, with MDC95% values of 2.23 and 1.68 m/s, respectively. crPWV and ffPWV exhibited poor reliability bilaterally (ICC2,1 = 0.12-0.33). Relative FMD showed moderate reliability for paretic (ICC2,1 = 0.50; 95% CI: -0.20, 0.85) and non-paretic (ICC = 0.59; 95% CI:0.04, 0.84) limbs, with MDC95% values of 6.88% and 7.65%, respectively. Reliability for absolute FMD was poor (ICC2,1 = 0.11-0.44). These findings support cfPWV as a reliable vascular assessment in individuals >12 months post-stroke, and provide stroke-specific MDC values to guide interpretability in future trials.
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BibTeX
@article{abreu2026testretest,
title = {{Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of pulse wave velocity and flow-mediated dilation in paretic and non-paretic limbs of older adults post-stroke.}},
author = {Juliano A Abreu and Natalie D'Isabella and Derek W Stouth and Maureen J MacDonald and Ada Tang and Kevin Moncion},
journal = {Physiological reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.14814/phy2.71138},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897953},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change of pulse wave velocity and flow-mediated dilation in paretic and non-paretic limbs of older adults post-stroke.
AU - Juliano A Abreu
AU - Natalie D'Isabella
AU - Derek W Stouth
AU - Maureen J MacDonald
AU - Ada Tang
AU - Kevin Moncion
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Physiological reports
DO - 10.14814/phy2.71138
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897953
AB - Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are non-traditional risk markers after stroke, yet reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) of pulse wave velocity (PWV) and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) have not been established. We examined test-retest reliability and MDC of carotid-femoral (cfPWV), carotid-radial (crPWV), and femoral-dorsalis pedis PWV (ffPWV), and absolute and relative brachial artery FMD in people >12 months post-stroke. Seventeen individuals (n = 4 (24%) females; 63.9 ± 8.6 years; 4.5 ± 2.8 years post-stroke) completed two bilateral assessments of PWV via applanation tonometry and FMD via duplex ultrasound within 1 week. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) were calculated via two-way random-effects models, and MDC derived at 68%, 90%, and 95% confidence levels. We found good-to-excellent reliability for cfPWV in paretic (ICC2,1 = 0.85; 95% CI:0.59, 0.95) and non-paretic (ICC2,1 = 0.94; 95% CI:0.82, 0.98) limbs, with MDC95% values of 2.23 and 1.68 m/s, respectively. crPWV and ffPWV exhibited poor reliability bilaterally (ICC2,1 = 0.12-0.33). Relative FMD showed moderate reliability for paretic (ICC2,1 = 0.50; 95% CI: -0.20, 0.85) and non-paretic (ICC = 0.59; 95% CI:0.04, 0.84) limbs, with MDC95% values of 6.88% and 7.65%, respectively. Reliability for absolute FMD was poor (ICC2,1 = 0.11-0.44). These findings support cfPWV as a reliable vascular assessment in individuals >12 months post-stroke, and provide stroke-specific MDC values to guide interpretability in future trials.
SN - 2051-817X
ER -