Related Experiment Videos
The effect of age on vascular compliance in man: which are the appropriate measures?
C J Bulpitt1, J D Cameron, C Rajkumar
1Section of Care of the Elderly, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK.
Insights
Arterial compliance decreases with age. Central aortic compliance (CAC), QKD interval, and carotid-toe interval best reflect aging. The carotid-finger interval relates to blood pressure, not age.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Aging Research
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Vascular compliance significantly declines with aging.
- Assessing arterial compliance is crucial for understanding the aging process.
- Identifying age-sensitive compliance measures may aid in estimating biological age.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify measures of vascular compliance most closely related to chronological age.
- To explore the relationship between various vascular compliance measures and age.
- To determine if peripheral measures correlate with blood pressure after age adjustment.
Main Methods:
- Measured pulse wave velocity using carotid-finger, carotid-toe, and QKD intervals.
- Calculated central aortic compliance (CAC) and stroke volume/pulse pressure (SV/PP).
- Analyzed data from 36 volunteers (ages 20-84) to correlate measurements with age and blood pressure.
Main Results:
- Central aortic compliance (CAC), QKD interval, and carotid-toe interval showed the strongest correlations with age (r = -0.51, -0.60, -0.58).
- The carotid-finger interval was the only measure significantly related to diastolic blood pressure after age adjustment (b = -0.83, P = 0.01).
- Higher blood pressure correlated with a shorter carotid-finger interval.
Conclusions:
- Central aortic compliance (CAC), QKD interval, and carotid-toe interval are valuable for assessing age-related changes in vascular compliance.
- Peripheral measures like the carotid-finger interval may be useful for evaluating the interplay between blood pressure and vascular compliance.
- These findings contribute to understanding vascular aging and its potential clinical implications.
Abstract:
Vascular compliance declines rapidly with age and measures of arterial compliance may help understanding of the aging process. Of the different measures of vascular compliance, those more closely related to chronological age need to be identified. These measures may help in the estimation of 'biological age'. We measured pulse wave velocity as the carotid-finger interval, carotid-toe interval and QKD interval (time between the Q wave and the arrival of the diastolic Korotkoff sound (K) over the brachial artery in diastoly (D)); central aortic compliance (CAC) and SV/PP (the stroke volume divided by pulse pressure in the brachial artery). Thirty-six volunteers were studied (30 men), ages 20 to 84, mean 49 years, to give the relationship of these measurements with age. CAC, the QKD interval and the carotid-toe interval were most closely related to age (r = - 0.51, -0.60 and -0.58 respectively). After adjustment for age, the only measure related to blood pressure was the carotid-finger interval; b for diastolic blood pressure = -0.83 (P = 0.01), the higher the pressure the shorter the interval. Measurements of CAC, QKD interval and carotid-toe interval may be employed to assess the impact of age on vascular compliance. Measures of peripheral vascular compliance, such as the carotid-finger interval, may prove useful in assessing the relationship between blood pressure and vascular compliance.