Abstract
Stiffening of the small artery may be the earliest sign of arteriosclerosis. The photoplethysmographic-derived index of finger arterial stiffness (FSI) had been developed as a blood pressure independent measure, based on an exponential model of pressure-arterial volume relationship in the finger artery. In this study, a novel measure of FSI for high transmural pressure range (FSIH) is evolved which is more relevant to the arteriole component and examined in diabetes patients. Participants were 31 ophthalmic middle-aged patients who were assigned to three groups: diabetes (DM, 7 patients), diabetes complicate hypertension (DH, 12), and controls (CT, 12). FSI and FSIH had been previously standardized as 50 ± 10 for a healthy young population. FSI in DH (73.8 ± 11.3) was significantly higher than CT (54.7 ± 11.8), while intermediate in DM (65.0 ± 14.6). FSIH was significantly higher in DM (91.2 ± 22.9) and DH (83.8 ± 31.1) patients than CT (61.0 ± 12.1). These findings suggest that FSI and FSIH are associated with the stiffness of the small artery and arteriole in the finger, respectively.
