Association between pulse wave velocity and the 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the Chinese population: A community-based study

Accumulated evidence has shown that carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle PWV well predict cardiovascular events but it is still unclear if the predictability is same or not. In this cross-sectional study based on a community atherosclerosis cohort in Beijing, China, a total of 5282 participants without previous coronary heart disease and stroke were enrolled from a community atherosclerosis cohort in Beijing, China. The 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk were calculated by the China-PAR model, and < 5%, 5%-10% and > 10% were defined as low, intermediate, and high risk, respectively. The average baPWV and cfPWV values were 16.63 ± 3.35 m/s and 8.45 ± 1.78 m/s, respectively. The mean 10-year ASCVD risk was 6.98% (interquartile range: 3.90%-12.01%). The patients with low, intermediate, and high 10-year ASCVD risk accounted for 34.84% (1840), 31.94% (1687),, and 33.23% (1755) respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that for every 1 m/s increase in baPWV and cfPWV, the 10-year ASCVD risk increased by 0.60% (95% confidence interval: 0.56%-0.65%, p < .001) and 1.17% (95% confidence interval: 1.09%-1.25%, p < .001), respectively. The diagnostic ability of the baPWV was comparable to the cfPWV (area under the curve: 0.870 [0.860-0.879] vs. 0.871 [0.861-0.881], p = .497). In conclusion, baPWV and cfPWV are positively associated with the 10-year risk of ASCVD in the Chinese community-based population, with a nearly identical association with a high 10-year risk of ASCVD.