ARTERIAL ELASTICITY PREDICTS CARDIOVASCULAR MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY- A LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN THE VARA-SKÖVDE COHORT. (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Szalo, Gabor; Hellgren, Margareta; Allison, Matthew; Lindblad, Ulf; Daka, Bledar
• Is Part Of: Journal of hypertension. Volume 40(2022)Supplement 1
• Page Start: e14
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: Hypertension -- Periodicals; Hypertension -- Periodicals; 616.132005
• DOI: 10.1097/01.hjh.0000835412.69664.dc
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-5598

Abstract

Abstract : Objective: Background: Measures of arterial elasticity are used for early detection of vascular disease and identification of individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease morbidity (CVD). Aim: To investigate the association between arterial elasticity and risk for CVD in men and women. Design and method: A total of 2816 randomly selected individuals were examined (Men = 1400) between 2002 and 2005. The average follow-up time was 14.8 ± 2.4 years. After excluding participants with known cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, 2362 individuals (Men = 1186) were included in this study. Small Arterial Elasticity Index (SAEI) was measured using the HDI/Pulse Wave™ CR2000. Diagnoses of CVD were defined as acute myocardial infarction or stroke and based on Swedish Cause of Death Register and Swedish National Inpatient Register for period 2002–2019. Kaplan – Meijer and Cox- regression analyses were used to investigate the differences between SAEI quartiles and future CVD, adjusting for age, sex, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, LDL- cholesterol, HOMA-IR, C- reactive protein, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity. Of note, higher values of SAEI indicate more compliant arteries. Results: Mean age at baseline was 46 ± 10.6 years. Overall, 108 events were observed, 38 in women with 11 under 50 years. In the fully adjusted model, a one quartile higher SAEI score was associated with a 26% lower risk of incident CVD among men and women combined; (HR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.55- 0.99, p = 0.041). Similar results were observed in men in the fully adjusted model (HR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.45- 0.95, p = 0.024). Analogous, however nonsignificant, results were observed in women older than 50 years (HR = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.24- 1.45). The effect size was significantly lower in women younger than 50 years (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.58- 1.45). However, the number of events in this group was low. Conclusions: We showed a strong and independent association between SAEI and CVD in men. Similar tendencies and effect size were observed in postmenopausal women. The diastolic pulse wave appears to provide additional information for cardiovascular risk assessments.