Relationship between carotid artery stiffness index, BNP and high-sensitivity CRP

Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are considered as novel biomarkers that are useful in the prediction of early cardiovascular risk. We studied the relationship between carotid artery stiffness index beta and the cardiovascular biomarkers BNP and hs-CRP in 55 consecutive subjects. Carotid artery stiffness was assessed using the stiffness index beta derived from brachial artery blood pressure measurement and carotid ultrasonography. Venous blood samples were obtained for BNP and hs-CRP. Pearson's correlation coefficient suggested a strong bivariate relationship between carotid stiffness index beta and age (r=0.56, P<0.0001), BNP (r=0.45, P<0.004) and hs-CRP (r=0.26, P=0.06), respectively. On multiple regression analysis, significant correlations were found between carotid stiffness index beta and age (P=0.004), BNP (P=0.027) and hs-CRP (P=0.029). These findings suggest that there is a relationship between intra-cardiac pressures (measured by BNP), vascular inflammation (measured by hs-CRP) and vascular stiffness. Cardiovascular biomarkers are thus associated with functional parameters of the vascular tree.