No abstract available.
Vascular Stiffness

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is associated with systemic inflammation and arterial stiffness during the acute stage. It has not been reported if arterial stiffness remains after recovery. The aim of this study was to determine the arterial stiffness during acute stage and 6 months after recovery from ARF. Arterial stiffness was assessed by carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) in 23 ARF patients during the acute stage of ARF and 6 months later. Simultaneously, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and other anthropometric measurements were taken during both stages. There was a significant reduction in PWV; 6.5 (6.0, 7.45) m/s to 5.9 (5.38, 6.48) m/s, p=0.003 6 months after the acute stage of ARF. Similarly, ESR was also significantly reduced from 92.0 (37.5, 110.50) mm/hr to 7.0 (5.0, 16.0) mm/hr, p=0.001. In conclusion, arterial stiffness improved 6 months after the acute stage with routine aspirin treatment; this correlates well with the reduction in systemic inflammation.
Rheumatic Fever ; Vascular Stiffness

No abstract available.
Hypertension* ; Vascular Stiffness*

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between fruit and vegetable intake and arterial stiffness. METHODS: We conducted a cohort-based study comprising 6,628 participants with arterial stiffness information in the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China (China-PAR) project. A semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire was used to assess baseline (2007-2008) and recent (2018-2021) fruit and vegetable intake. We assessed changes in fruit and vegetable intake from 2007-2008 to 2018-2021 in 6,481 participants. Arterial stiffness was measured using the arterial velocity-pulse index (AVI) and arterial pressure-volume index (API). Elevated AVI and API values were defined according to diverse age reference ranges. RESULTS: Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models revealed that every 100 g/d increment in fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 0.11 decrease in AVI ( B= -0.11; 95% confidence interval [ CI]: -0.20, -0.02) on average, rather than API ( B = 0.02; 95% CI: -0.09, 0.13). The risk of elevated AVI (odds ratio [ OR] = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.97) is 18% lower in individuals with high intake (≥ 500 g/d) than in those with low intake (< 500 g/d). Furthermore, maintaining a high intake in the past median of 11.5 years of follow-up was associated with an even lower risk of elevated AVI compared with a low intake at both baseline and follow-up ( OR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.83). CONCLUSION Fruit and vegetable intake was negatively associated with arterial stiffness, emphasizing recommendations for adherence to fruit and vegetable intake for the prevention of arterial stiffness.
Humans ; Vascular Stiffness ; Fruit ; Vegetables ; Atherosclerosis ; China

OBJECTIVE: There have been few studies regarding the relationship between arterial stiffness and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP). In the current study, we evaluated the relationship between the LVEDP and arterial stiffness in patients with hypertension (HTN). METHODS: Group I (n=34) included patients with a normal E/E' (< or =8) without HTN, group II (n=31) included patients with an elevated E/E' (>8) without HTN, group III (n=20) included patients with a normal E/E' (< or =8) with HTN, and group IV (n=49) included patients with an elevated E/E' (>8) with HTN. Aortic distensibility (AD) and the right brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were measured. RESULTS: The mean age was 46.0+/-11.3 years. The mean value of AD was significantly lower in the group III compared to the group I. The group IV showed significantly lower AD compared to the group II. The group III demonstrated higher baPWV compared to the group I (1422+/-182 cm/sec vs. 1186+/-178 cm/sec, p<0.01), and the group IV showed higher baPWV compared to the group II (1456+/-228 vs. 1259+/-238 cm/sec, p<0.01). However, AD and baPWV were not significantly different between the group I and II, and between the group III and IV. The E/E' ratio showed a weak negative correlation with AD and a weak positive correlation with baPWV. CONCLUSION: Patients with hypertension showed a lower AD and a higher baPWV compared to those with normal blood pressure independent of the LVEDP. But the correlation between E/E' ratio and arterial stiffness suggests that a high LVEDP might not significantly influence arterial stiffness.
Blood Pressure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Vascular Stiffness

Vascular stiffening of the large arteries is a common feature of human aging. Increased aortic stiffness with age may contribute to pathological changes in the left ventricle and this can induce ventricular stiffening. Vascular-ventricular stiffening combined with abnormal arterial-cardiac interaction is considered an important pathophysiology of heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction. Here, I briefly review the concept and implications of arterial-cardiac interaction and this will pave the way to understanding and controlling heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction, which is more prevalent in the elderly.
Aged ; Aging ; Arteries ; Heart Failure ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Vascular Stiffness

OBJECTIVES: The role of rheumatoid factor (RF) in vascular stiffness and cardiovascular risk in subjects without joint symptoms remains unclear. We investigated vascular stiffness in subjects without joint symptoms using pulse wave velocity (PWV), calculated Framingham risk scores (FRS), an estimator of cardiovascular risk, and analyzed whether vascular stiffness and FRS were affected by RF. METHODS: Two hundred forty-two subjects were included in this population-based study. RF was quantified with turbid immunometry using a cut-off of RF > 15 IU/ml to denote RF positivity. Information was then obtained on joint symptoms. Brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV) was measured using an automated device. RESULTS: Of the 242 subjects, 15 were RF-positive. RF-positive subjects without joint symptoms had a higher baPWV and FRS than RF-negative subjects without joint symptoms, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. However, when we stratified the subjects into two groups (group A – high RF: RF ≥ 40 IU/ml; group B – low RF: RF < 40 IU/ml), group A showed significantly higher baPWV (1640.7 ± 179.6 ㎝/s vs. 1405.7 ± 225.7 ㎝/s, P = 0.008) and FRS (25.7 ± 4.87 vs. 11.8 ± 9.6, P < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis was used to examine potential confounders, and RF exhibited significant but modest effects on baPWV (adjusted R-squared = 0.038, P = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of the general population without joint symptoms, higher levels of RF were associated with increased vascular stiffness, suggesting a pathophysiologic link between RF and endothelial dysfunction.
Joints* ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Rheumatoid Factor* ; Vascular Stiffness*

OBJECTIVES: Acceleration plethysmograms (APGs) are obtained by taking the second derivative of photoplethysmograms (PPGs) and are noninvasive circulatory signals related to risk factors for atherosclerosis with age. There has been growing interest in the development of mobile devices to collect and analyze PPG single features for ambulatory health monitoring. The present study aimed to extract a new feature from the morphologies of APG and PPG signals to classify the dominant indices related to the pulsatile volume of blood in tissue according to age. METHODS: Ten APG and 14 PPG indices were simultaneously extracted. All indices were compared via Pearson correlation coefficients (r) and a regression analysis. We introduced a combined index extracted from both the PPG and APG indices defined as the inflection point area plus the d_peak (IPAD). The participants included 93 healthy adults aged 36–86 years with a mean ± standard deviation age of 57.43 ± 11.99 years. RESULTS: The d_peak and age index for the APG indices were significantly correlated with age (r = −0.408, p < 0.0001 and r = 0.296, p = 0.0039, respectively). Only the A1 time for PPG indices was moderately correlated with age (r = −0.247, p = 0.017). The stiffness index, including individual height information, was not related to age (r = −0.031, p = 0.7713). However, the combined IPAD index was significantly more correlated with age (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) than the other indices. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed index outperformed the other 24 indices for evaluating vascular aging. We suggest that the IPAD is a significant factor related to the clinical information embedded in the PPG waveform.
Acceleration* ; Adult ; Aging* ; Atherosclerosis ; Humans ; Photoplethysmography ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Stiffness

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the impact of age on arterial stiffness and blood pressure (BP) variables in newly diagnosed untreated hypertension (HT). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 144 patients with newly diagnosed untreated HT were divided into two groups: young group (age < or =50 years, n=71), and old group (age >50 years, n=73). BP variables were measured on office or 24 hours ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM). Parameters of arterial stiffness were measured on pulse wave velocity (PWV). Pulse wave analysis (PWA) was compared. RESULTS: Although office BP and pulse pressure (PP) were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the young group than in the old group, BP and PP on ABPM were not significantly different. Central systolic BP and PP, augmentation pressure, augmentation index on PWA, and PWV were significantly higher or faster in the old group compared to that in the young group. Age showed significant positive correlation with both PWV and PWA variables in the young group with HT. However, age only showed significant positive correlation with PWV in the old group with HT. In the young group with HT, PWA variable showed better correlation with age than PWV. CONCLUSION: Considering BP levels on ABPM, office BP is prone to be overestimated in young patients with HT. Parameters of arterial stiffness measured by PWV and PWA were more affected by age rather than by BP level in patients with HT. Therefore, PWA variable might be a more sensitive marker of arterial stiffness in young patients with HT. However, PWV might be a better marker for old patients with HT.
Aging ; Blood Pressure* ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Vascular Stiffness*

No abstract available.
Angiotensins ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Vascular Stiffness