Use of relaxation time as a marker for arterial distensibility

Arterial stiffening is associated with a number of known cardiovascular risk factors, including advancing age, increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and obesity. Many methodologies, both invasive and noninvasive, have been applied to the assessment of the stiffening of large elastic arteries in vivo, but there is no economically and/or universally accepted means of screening patients for atherosclerosis. From preliminary studies, a novel parameter, arterial relaxation time, has been identified as a potential indicator for inferring the elasticity of arteries. Preliminary measurements of arterial relaxation time of six normotensive subjects are significantly less than measurements of four hypertensive subjects.