Arterial tension time reflects subclinical atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness and stroke volume

To introduce and evaluate a new haemodynamic parameter known as arterial tension time (ATT) and study whether ATT is associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors as well as with indices of arterial stiffness, cardiac pump function and subclinical atherosclerosis.

Arterial tension time was measured from the whole-body impedance cardiography (ICG) signal and defined as the time difference between the onset of arterial distension induced by stroke volume (SV) and maximal integrated arterial distension. As measures of subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness, carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), Young's elastic modulus (YEM), arterial stiffness index (ASI) and carotid artery compliance (CAC) were assessed with ultrasound in 336 Finnish adults (aged 46-76 years, 43·2% men) participating in the Health 2000 Survey. In addition, pulse wave velocity (PWV) and stroke volume index (SI), as indices of arterial stiffness and cardiac pump function, were assessed with ICG.

Arterial tension time was associated inversely with PWV, IMT, YEM and ASI (P<0·002 for all) and directly with SI and CAC (P<0·001 for both). Age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and fasting glucose were independent determinants of decreased ATT (P<0·04 for all). Moreover, accumulation of cardiovascular risk factors was associated with the decrease in ATT (P for trend <0·001).

Decreased ATT was associated with increased arterial stiffness, increased subclinical atherosclerosis and decreased SV. Current results suggest that ATT provides simultaneous information on several aspects of cardiovascular structure and function and could possibly serve as a new integrated parameter for cardiovascular risk stratification.