Background/objective: The most significant complication and leading cause of death for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) is coronary artery disease (CAD). It has been confirmed that aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an emerging CAD predictor among able-bodied individuals. No prior study has described PWV values among people with SCI. The objective of this study was to compare aortic (the common carotid to femoral artery) PWV, arm (the brachial to radial artery) PWV, and leg (the femoral to posterior tibial artery) PWV in people with SCI (SCI group) to able-bodied controls (non-SCI group).
Methods: Participants included 12 men with SCI and 9 non-SCI controls matched for age, sex, height, and weight. Participants with a history of CAD or current metabolic syndrome were excluded. Aortic, arm, and leg PWV was measured using the echo Doppler method.
Results: Aortic PWV (mean +/- SD) in the SCI group (1,274 +/- 369 cm/s) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in the non-SCI group (948 +/- 110 cm/s). There were no significant between-group differences in mean arm PWV (SCI: 1,152 +/- 193 cm/s, non-SCI: 1,237 +/- 193 cm/s) or mean leg PWV (SCI: 1,096 +/- 173 cm/s, non-SCI: 994 +/- 178 cm/s) values.
Conclusions: Aortic PWV was higher among the SCI group compared with the non-SCI group. The higher mean aortic PWV values among the SCI group compared with the non-SCI group indicated a higher risk of CAD among people with SCI in the absence of metabolic syndrome.