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Ambulatory Aortic Stiffness Is Associated With Narrow Retinal Arteriolar Caliber in Hypertensives: The SAFAR Study

Evaggelia K Aissopou1, Antoniοs A Argyris2, Efthimia G Nasothimiou2

  • 1Hypertension Unit and Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, 1st Department of Propaedeutic Internal Medicine, Laiko Hospital, Athens, Greece; eaiswpou@yahoo.gr.

American Journal of Hypertension
|August 26, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Ambulatory aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) measurements provide additional cardiovascular risk insights beyond static measures, associating with narrower retinal arterioles. This 24-hour monitoring better reflects usual arterial stiffness and its impact on eye vessels.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular research
  • Ophthalmology
  • Vascular biology

Background:

  • Static arterial stiffness measurements incompletely represent usual cardiovascular risk due to circadian variation.
  • Arterial stiffness is linked to narrower retinal arterioles, an indicator of vascular health.
  • Current methods may not capture the full picture of arterial stiffness's impact.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if ambulatory 24-hour aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) associates with retinal vessel calibers.
  • To determine if this association is independent of confounders and static arterial stiffness.
  • To investigate awake and asleep aPWV in hypertensive individuals without diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

Main Methods:

  • Retinal images were analyzed to measure central retinal arteriolar and venular equivalents (CRAE and CRVE).
  • Ambulatory (24-hour, awake, asleep) and static office aPWV were measured using Mobil-O-Graph.
  • Static office carotid-femoral PWV (cfPWV) was measured using SphygmoCor.

Main Results:

  • Ambulatory aPWV correlated with narrower retinal arterioles, but not venules, after adjustments.
  • Asleep aPWV showed a stronger association with CRAE than awake aPWV.
  • Both ambulatory aPWV and cfPWV independently associated with narrower retinal arterioles, with aPWV improving cfPWV models.

Conclusions:

  • Ambulatory aPWV offers additional cardiovascular risk information beyond cfPWV.
  • Operator-independent ambulatory aPWV measurement enhances understanding of arterial stiffness and retinal vessel caliber associations.
  • This method provides a more comprehensive assessment of arterial stiffness's impact on ocular vasculature.
Abstract

Keywords:
ambulatory arterial stiffnessarterial distensibilityblood pressurehypertensionpulse wave velocityretinal arteriolesretinal venules.

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