CASP & RAI

Central Aortic Systolic Pressure (CASP)

Central Aortic Systolic Pressure is the blood pressure at the root of the aorta (the largest artery in the body), as the blood is being pumped out of the heart. CASP has been shown to be an important factor in the relation to strokes and cardiovascular events, more so than the brachial pressure, or the pressure at the arm commonly.

CASP is different and usually lower than the brachial pressure in normal people. When we are young, below 40 years old, the difference between CASP and the brachial pressure can be significant (up to 30 mmHg). However, as we age, the aorta gets stiffer and the compliance reduces. As a result, the CASP increases and comes much closer to the brachial pressure. In patients with high blood pressure, the CASP can be abnormally high for his age, showing “pre-mature” stiffening of the aorta.

It has also been shown that certain class of drugs used in the treatment of high blood pressure can also have an adverse effect on the CASP, increasing it instead of reducing, as shown in the CAFÉ study. Therefore it is important to show that the treatment a patient is taking actually result in lowering the CASP and not the reverse. By reducing the CASP of the patient, we are reducing the risks of stroke and heart events.

How To Measure CASP

Invasive method

This is direct measurement and has been considered as the most accurate method. To perform the measurement, a catheter must be inserted into the aortic root from brachial or femoral artery, which is obviously an invasive method and could result in complications.

Non-Invasive Method: BPro® + A-PULSE CASP®

HealthSTATS invented the BPro® device, which captures radial pressure waveforms. Furthermore, HS developed a proprietary formula, which was built in a commercial software A-PULSE CASP®, to derive CASP from the calibrated radial pressure waveform.