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Measuring the Carotid to Femoral Pulse Wave Velocity (Cf-PWV) to Evaluate Arterial Stiffness
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Effects of prehypertension on arterial stiffness and wave reflections

Omer Gedikli1, Abdulkadir Kiris, Serkan Ozturk

  • 1Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Medicine, Departmant of Cardiology, Trabzon, Turkey. omergedikli@yahoo.com

Clinical and Experimental Hypertension (New York, N.Y. : 1993)
|April 9, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Arterial stiffness and wave reflections are increased in individuals with prehypertension, indicating impaired arterial function even before hypertension develops. This suggests early intervention may be beneficial for cardiovascular health.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Hypertension Research
  • Vascular Biology

Background:

  • The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure categorizes blood pressure into normal, prehypertension, and hypertension.
  • While hypertension is linked to arterial stiffness, data on arterial stiffness in prehypertension is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate arterial stiffness and wave reflections in individuals diagnosed with prehypertension.
  • To compare arterial stiffness markers between prehypertensive subjects and normotensive controls.

Main Methods:

  • Applanation tonometry was used to assess arterial stiffness and wave reflections.
  • Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured as an index of aortic stiffness.
  • The heart rate-corrected augmentation index (AIx@75) was calculated as a marker of wave reflections and arterial stiffness.
  • Study included 45 prehypertensive subjects and 40 age-matched normotensive controls.

Main Results:

  • Subjects with prehypertension exhibited significantly higher aortic PWV (10 ± 2.5 m/s) compared to controls (8.6 ± 1.7 m/s, p=0.004).
  • AIx@75 was significantly elevated in the prehypertension group (21 ± 8.3%) versus the control group (10 ± 9.1%, p=0.0001).
  • Prehypertension was identified as a significant predictor of both aortic PWV (β=0.26, p=0.009) and AIx@75 (β=0.46, p=0.0001) in regression analysis.

Conclusions:

  • Arterial functions, including elastic-type aortic stiffness and wave reflections, are impaired in individuals with prehypertension.
  • These findings suggest that vascular changes occur early, even at the prehypertensive stage.
  • Early detection and management of prehypertension may be crucial for preventing further arterial damage.

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