Measuring Finger Pulse is a Reliable Way to Detect Heart Health

Researchers have developed a new technique that can help doctors assess a patient's heart health just by measuring the pulse in the finger.

The aorta is the largest artery in the body and the rate at which it stiffens is dependent on both age and heart health. As the aorta loses its flexibility, the heart needs to put in extra work to pump blood to the rest of the body. Over the years, the heart starts getting weaker that can lead to many health problems.

The new device developed by researchers at the University of Iowa shows that it is possible to measure the aortic stiffening without using invasive methods.

Currently, physicians detect aortic conditions by recording the pulse of carotid artery, which is located near the neck, and the femoral artery found near the groin.

The device has a transducer that is placed on the finger or over the brachial artery, which is located just beneath the elbow. The data along with patients' age and body mass index can reveal the health of the aorta.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in the U.S. as well with about 600,000 people dying of heart related complications every year.  Some people can live for years without knowing that they have cardiovascular problems.

"The technique is more effective in that it is easy to obtain just one pulse waveform in the finger or the brachial artery, and it's less intrusive than obtaining a femoral waveform in patients," said Gary Pierce, assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Physiology, first author on the paper, according to a news release.  "It also can be easily obtained in the clinic during routine exams similar to blood pressure tests."

The study is published in the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.