Purpose: To validate defining characteristics of ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion using vasomotor function assessment.
Methods: Twenty-four patients with hypertensive cardiomiopathy were evaluated for 18 defining characteristics of ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion and underwent vasomotor function assessment with induction of reactive hyperemia, intra-arterial infusion of acetylcholine, and pulse wave velocity measurement. The Student's t test and Kruskall-Wallis test were used to assess the significance of relationships between defining characteristics and vasomotor function data.
Findings: Diminished lower extremity pulses were associated with diminished forearm blood flow during acetylcholine infusion; left ventricular overload, intermittent claudication, and diminished skin moisture were associated with elevated pulse wave velocity values.
Conclusion: The defining characteristics of ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion were highly associated with vasomotor function data as "gold standards" for that diagnosis.
Practice implications: Nurses should be able to accurately assess diminished lower extremity pulses, intermittent claudication, and diminished skin moisture as relevant characteristics of ineffective peripheral tissue perfusion in patients with hypertensive cardiomiopathy.