Arterial Stiffness in a Rural Population of Argentina: Pilot Study

Aortic stiffness evaluated through pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement is nowadays accepted as a reliable parameter to estimate cardiovascular risk. However the data about arterial stiffness in South America come from urban populations.

To determine the relationship between PWV changes and ageing and to identify the rate of change in each decade of life.

PWV was measured in the carotid-femoral pathway in 400 inhabitants of Vela town and clinical parameters were recorded.

The prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes was 33.5, 17.5, 5% respectively. PWV was positively correlated with age (r: 0.817, p = 0.01) and was greater after the fifth decade of life (9.72 ± 2.2 vs. 5.87 ± 1.55 m/s; p: 0.001) than in youngers than 50 years, respectively. The risk (odds ratio) of having PWV >10 m/s was higher in hypertensives (OR: 50, p = 0.001), older than 50 years (OR: 44, p = 0.001), diabetics (OR 9.5, p = 0.001) and dyslipidemic patients (OR: 5, p = 0.001).

This is the first study in a rural population of Argentina which determines the relationship of PWV with age and cardiovascular risk. PWV shows a slower growth in subjects less than 50 years compared to older adults with a strong relationship to the process of arterial aging, the development of hypertension and cardiovascular risk.