Arterial stiffness and increased cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a common comorbidity and a major cause of mortality in CKD population. While CVD-related mortality is relatively uncommon in young population, it accounts for most deaths in young CKD adults. There are numerous risk factors for CVD in CKD patients including conventional (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia) and nonconventional (oxidative stress, inflammation, anemia, mineral metabolism disorder) factors. Recent studies have placed great emphasis on the association of arterial stiffness (AS) and CVD. AS is traditionally known as an aging marker of the artery; however, increased AS is observed in young and even in pediatric CKD patients; it is also shown that AS progresses in consistent with kidney function decline. Unparallel AS in young CKD population and excessive risk of CVD in young CKD adults show an indication that AS probably offers one of the underlying mechanisms for linking CKD and CVD. AS in CKD patients has multifactorial causes. Comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and mineral metabolism disorder which are risk factors for CVD also show great contribution to AS in CKD patients. Increased systolic blood pressure and decreased diastolic blood pressure resulting from AS cause elevated ventricular afterload, lead to impaired coronary perfusion, myocardial ischemia, and ventricular hypertrophy, and consequently develop into CVD event. In this review, we summarized the role of AS in CKD and CVD, aiming to explore the linkage of AS between CKD and CVD.