Relationship of Carotid‐Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity and Brachial‐Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity With the Risk of New‐Onset Cardiovascular Events: A Cohort Study in the Beijing Community‐Based Population

ABSTRACT

Carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) are widely used indicators of arterial stiffness, with cfPWV considered the gold standard and baPWV increasingly applied in Asian populations. In this community‐based cohort from Beijing, we compared the associations of cfPWV and baPWV with the risk of new‐onset cardiovascular events. A total of 5723 residents from the Shougang community with available cfPWV and baPWV measurements from the 2018 follow‐up survey were included. CfPWV was measured using Pulsepen and baPWV using the Omron BP‐203RPE III device. Cardiovascular events, defined as a composite outcome of cardiovascular death, first‐ever myocardial infarction, or stroke, were identified from national and municipal registries through December 31, 2021. Over a median follow‐up of 3.15 years, 173 cardiovascular events occurred. Both cfPWV and baPWV were associated with incident cardiovascular events in Kaplan‐Meier analyses. However, in multivariable Cox regression models adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, cfPWV showed a nonsignificant trend ( p = 0.072), while baPWV remained significantly associated with new‐onset events ( p < 0.001). These findings indicate that in this community‐based population, baPWV, but not cfPWV, demonstrates a robust association with cardiovascular risk, suggesting that baPWV may serve as a more practical and effective tool for routine cardiovascular risk assessment in Asian populations.