Central Aortic Pressure Wave Changes with Sleep Stage and Disordered Breathing in Children Estimated by Application of an Arterial Transfer Function to Peripheral Blood Pressure

We have developed an arterial transfer function using aortic and peripheral blood pressure waves measured simultaneously in healthy children undergoing diagnostic catheterization. We have applied this transfer function to peripheral blood pressure pulses measured during specific stages of sleep and at distinct points in the respiratory cycle in a different set of children with and without sleep disordered breathing to estimate the central aortic pressure wave shape.