I am researcher working on arterial stiffness, not a medical doctor but I agree with you that PWV measurement should be done routinely as measuring blood pressure. It takes few minutes. The only caveat is the distance measurement (carotid-femoral surface distance where the probes are located) that could be tricky with patients that are very overweight (big belly) but I believe there is a way to go around it (adjustments by height etc).

Standardisation of equipment and way to measure carotid femoral distance may be a problem in getting normal accepted values to be applied in clinics. There are a few different equipments used to measure PWV. There are also more than one way to measure the carotid femoral distance.

Standardization is important and an expert consensus document on the measurement of aortic stiffness in daily practice using the c-fPWV is published by Prof. LM van Bortel in J Hypertens and one article is published on the 80% rule by Salvi and Parati also in J Hypertens 2013

see www.popmetre.com This a new device that measures arterial stiffness : finger toe PWV according to height chart. The agreement with the cf PWV is very good. It is  stressless, non oprator dependent, no need to push on the carotide baroreceptor, and you get a result within 20 seconds ! 

The main problem is to have well clear in mind what you are measuring with the popMetre (http://www.axelife.fr/fr/produit.html). PWV changes along the arterial tree according with vessel diameter and elastin content. Only aortic PWV is demonstrated to be associated with prognosis and reference values have been established only for this measurement. Including other arterial segments in the measurement (see picture in http://www.axelife.fr/fr/produit.html) provides an average of the actual PWV  acting in different arterial segments (radial, brachial, innominate, aortic, iliac, femoral, tibial) and may have unpredictable effects on obtained PWV values. Finally, traveled distance measurement will be ever more tricky since the arterial pathway in not linear (as occurs with aorta) and recorded waveforms travel in opposite directions for a large part of the considered pathway.

tank's for these comment. Aorta is 80% elastine. In the upper and lower limbs arteries are muscular. When we consider the distance or the transit time between Heart to toe minus distance from heart to finger we got the aortic patch distance/time. Works have been accepted in the Européen society of hypertension ESH 2012/2013/2014 about This  method... submitted.

Oscillometric brachial artery PWV ? Takes 1 minute. Seems to have good correlation with cfPWV. I am gp. To include an investigation into routine CVD assessment needs to be easy and quick. 

Article Non-invasive assessment of arterial stiffness using oscillom...

Article Oscillometric estimation of aortic pulse wave velocity: Comp...

A simpler and clinically applicable method is the radial pressure wave form, obtained invasively or by tonometry. The second peak in the radial pressure wave (rPW) is clearly visible in hypertensive patients (see Pauca et al. Chest 1992; 102(4): 1193-8, Pauca et al. Brit J Anaesth. 2004) and is directly related to the degree of aortic stiffness (Wang et al. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2003; 284(4):H1358-68, Davies et al.. Am J Physiol Circ Physiol. 2010; ;298(2):H580-6). This occurs because the aortic pressure wave has two clear deflections: the first peak produced by the initial flow from the LV and the second by the distention of the proximal aorta. The higher the rigidity, the higher the peak (Davies et al. Artery Research. 207; 1(2):40-45). Hughes et al. Hypertension. 20008; 51(6):e45-46 have explained the equivalence of the second peak in radial and aortic PWs. This equivalence had been found by comparing these waves produced by the same ventricular contraction with identical pressure transducers. It was found that the second peak in radial and aortic PWs was equivalent (which explained the mechanics of the less than 4mmHg difference) whenever the systolic pressure was represented by the second peak in the radial PW. This is easily recognized because the apex in the radial PW is on the right, before the incisura. These findings have been fiercely disputed by investigators who believe that the second peak is produced by reflected waves from distal aorta. This belief is traditional, but has never been demonstrated (Baksi et al. J Am Coll Cardil. 2009;54(22) 2087-92.  

Unfortunately no one has contributed to this research therefore no one at The Baptist Medica Center is famial with this method. Thus no one is familial

with this met

I do not support Pressure way velocity or any method based on derivasion of the aortic pressure wave from a peripheral arter, certainly that who validity I seem to have authored. Readers should see who the corresponding author is.

Alfredo L Pauca MD

Dear Alfredo,

Perferial arteries of the upper and lower limbs do not have any elastic caracteristics. They are conducting artériel. They act in our model like a straw in the upper and lower part of the aorta.

If I am in some publication, the conflict of interest is clearly declared. All other researchers have no any conflict of interest with pOpmètre.

If you are interested in try pOpmètre, please feel free to let me know, we would be happy to arrange that

Many thanks for your interest

kind regards