Ultrasonic studies have shown that arterial compliance increases after prolonged ischemia. The objective of the present study was to develop an alternative plethysmographic method to investigate compliance, exploring validity and clinical applicability. Forearm pulse volume (FPV) and blood pressure (BP) were used to establish the FPV-BP relationship. Forearm arterial compliance (FAC) was measured, and the area under the FAC-BP curve (FAC_AUC) was determined. The time course curve of compliance changes during reactive hyperemia was obtained by continuous measurements of FAC_AUC for 20 s before and for 300 s after arterial occlusion. This technique allows us to effectively assess compliance changes during reactive hyperemia. Furthermore, the selected measurement protocol indicated the necessity for continuous measurements to detect "true" maximal FAC_AUC changes. On multivariate analysis, preischemic FAC_AUC was mainly affected by sex, peak FAC_AUC was affected by sex and systolic BP, percent changes were affected by plasma high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, peak time was affected by age and body mass index, and descent time was affected by plasma triglyceride levels. The proposed technique is highly sensitive and well comparable with the generally accepted echotracking system. It may thus be considered as an alternative tool to detect and monitor compliance changes induced by arterial occlusion.