The Relationship Between Ambulatory Arterial Stiffness Index and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women

The ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) obtained during ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has been cited as an independent predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) including cardiovascular death, stroke and worsening chronic kidney disease (CKD) among mixed-sex adult populations. This study aimed to determine the relationship between AASI and MACE and its predictive precision in women.

This work follows the guidelines of the STROBE initiative for cohort studies. This was a retrospective single-center observational study of adult women (aged 18 - 75 years), who underwent 24-h ABPM for the diagnosis of hypertension or its control. The primary endpoint was a composite MACE of cardiovascular death, acute limb ischemia, stroke, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), or progression to stage V CKD.

A total of 219 women aged 57.4 ± 13.3 years were followed up for a median (interquartile range (IQR)) of 25.5 (18.3 - 31.3) months. Overall, 16 (7.3%) patients suffered one or more MACE events. AASI was significantly higher in patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), heart failure, previous stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA). AASI was a significant predictor of MACE (area under the curve: 0.78; P < 0.001) with an optimal cut-off of ≥ 0.56. On Kaplan-Meier analysis AASI ≥ 0.56 was significantly associated with MACE (log-rank test, P < 0.001). The only independent predictors of MACE on Cox proportional hazard analysis were diabetes mellitus, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, cumulative AASI values, or AASI ≥ 0.56.

An AASI of ≥ 0.56 is an independent predictor of MACE in women. A further validation study in a larger cohort of women is recommended.