Note: Pulse Wave Velocity is only available for Body Scan scales purchased in Europe. 

What is the difference between Pulse Wave Velocity and Vascular Age?

Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) and Vascular Age (VA) are two indexes of your cardiovascular health. They are related, but their interpretation is slightly different because the "optimal," "normal," and "not optimal" ranges are defined differently for each.

Withings introduced PWV in 2016 after calibrating and validating Body Cardio (our first scale to feature PWV and VA measurement capability) against a sphygmometer, the golden standard to measure cardiovascular health.

This gave us the possibility to refer to the PWV normality ranges published in scientific literature. These "normal values" were established on large groups, totaling over ten thousand patients in a clinical context over decades.

With VA, we extend this work on PWV by leveraging the fact that since 2016 we have the largest, most up-to-date database of PWV measurements in the world, with over one hundred thousand measurements. VA offers an interpretation of the PWV results based on measurements of other Body Scan and Body Cardio users.

As a whole, users of Body Scan and Body Cardio have slightly different demographic and clinical characteristics than the populations of patients on which the normal ranges of PWV were established. As a result, the "optimal," "normal," and "not optimal" ranges of PWV and VA do not coincide exactly with one another. As such, if your PWV is close to the border of a range (for instance close to the border between "normal" and "not optimal"), your VA may fall into the neighboring range (in this example, "not optimal").

Disclaimers:

• Body Scan is not a medical device and as such it is not intended to detect, prevent, monitor, or treat any disease. Always consult your doctor or healthcare professional before making any healthcare decisions or starting any diet or exercise program.
• Vascular Age is a relative indicator based on Withings users. This feature can’t predict an absolute risk of developing a cardiovascular disease and should only be considered as a wellness indicator.
• Pulse Wave Velocity should be considered as a wellness indicator only and is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease.