Association between measurements of arterial stiffness and target organ damage in a general Spanish population

Abstract

[EN]Introduction: Little is known about the relationship between arterial stiffness and cardiovascular target organ damage (TOD) in the general population. The aim was to analyse the relationship between different measurements of arterial stiffness and TOD, in a general Spanish population without a history of cardiovascular event. Materials and methods: Transversal descriptive study. Through stratified random sampling, a total of 501 individuals were included. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) was measured using a SphygmoCor SystemVR , the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was determined with aVasera VS- 1500VR and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV)was calculated through a validated equation. Results: The average age was 55.84±14.26.The percentage of vascular TOD, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and renal TOD was higher in men (p<.001). A positive correlation was obtained between carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT) and the measurements of vascular function. In the model 1 of the logistic regression analysis, cf-PWV was associated with vascular TOD (OR ¼ 1.15, p¼.040), ba- PWV was associated with vascular TOD (OR ¼ 1.20, p¼.010) and LVH (OR ¼ 1.12, p¼.047). Conclusions: The different measurements of arterial stiffness are highly associated with each other. Moreover, cf-PWV and ba-PWV were associated with vascular TOD, and ba-PWV with LVH, although they disappear when adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors.