Title:Estimated Arterial Stiffness and Prediction of Vascular Aging: The Rising of a New Era
Volume: 27
Issue: 16
Author(s): Christina Antza, Ioannis Doundoulakis, Evangelos Akrivos, Stella Stabouli, Katerina Chrysaidou, Dimos Gidaris and Vasilios Kotsis*
Affiliation:
- Hypertension Center, 3rd Department of Medicine, Papageorgiou Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki,Greece
Keywords:
Arterial stiffness, early vascular aging, hypertension, EVAAs, MRI, cardiovascular risk.
Abstract: Arterial stiffness has been associated with cardiovascular events and correlated with cardiovascular
risk factors. In the new guidelines of the European Society of Hypertension, the evaluation
of arterial stiffness, and specifically carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (c-f PWV), was taken
into account for the detailed screening of the hypertensive population. Despite the importance of
arterial stiffness as a target organ damage, the measurement is time-consuming, not practical, needs
expensive equipment and experienced staff. For all these reasons, c-f PWV is not recommended for
the everyday clinical practice and its current use is restricted for research purposes. The importance
of arterial properties in clinical practice and cardiovascular prevention is well known. Hence, the
estimation of arterial stiffness and vascular health based on parameters that affect arterial stiffness,
but without the use of a machine, is a new promising field. Furthermore, the relationship between
age-related MRI abnormalities as well as ultrafast ultrasound with vascular effect gives a new promise
for future vascular aging assessment.