Impact of Arterial Stiffness on Cardiac Geometry

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), with the accompanying decrease in diastolic function, can originate from an augmented cardiac load caused by arterial stiffness (AS). The Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI) is widely used as a good evaluation index for AS in Japan. We therefore conducted a longitudinal study aiming to determine the involvement of AS in changes in cardiac geometry using ultrasonography and CAVI.Between 2015 and 2020, 131 patients for whom echocardiography and CAVI measurements were performed at intervals of 401 ± 185 days were investigated to identify factors contributing to changes in cardiac geometry.Multivariate analysis showed that the value of change in the CAVI had an independent effect on the value of change in the left ventricular mass index (B = 4.023, β = 0.180, P = 0.046), which represents cardiac geometry, and on the value of change in relative wall thickness (RWT) (B = 0.021, β = 0.211, P = 0.010).This observational study suggested that improvements in CAVI, an indicator of cardiac afterload, may contribute to better cardiac remodeling, particularly in cases of concentric remodeling and concentric hypertrophy.