Prevalence of Arterial Stiffness Determined by Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of arterial stiffness among individuals diagnosed with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), specifically essential thrombocythemia (ET), polycythemia vera (PV), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study at Chiang-Mai University Hospital, Thailand, defining arterial stiffness as a mean cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) ≥8.0. Patients were compared to age-, sex-, and Thai cardiovascular (CV) risk score-matched controls with CV risk factors. Additional outcomes included the 10-year CV risk in MPN patients, estimated by the Thai CV risk score, and the correlation between plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and CAVI. Results: Eighty participants were included (50 with PV, 24 with ET, 6 with PMF; median age: 63.5 years). Arterial stiffness was present in 63.8% of MPN patients overall, with respective rates for ET, PV, and PMF being 70.8%, 60.0%, and 66.7% (p = 0.655). When compared to matched non-MPN controls with CV risk, prevalence of arterial stiffness did not differ significantly (65.2% vs. 60.9%, p = 0.539). The median estimated 10-year CV risk for patients with MPNs was 13.6% (range 0.7-30.0). No significant association was observed between CRP levels and mean CAVI (R = 0.208, p = 0.073). Conclusions: Arterial stiffness was detected in 63.8% of individuals with MPNs, a prevalence like that of matched non-MPN patients with CV risk factors.