The Open Atherosclerosis & Thrombosis Journal
2008, 1 : 1-5Published online 2008 November 13. DOI: 10.2174/1876506800801010001
Publisher ID: TOATHERTJ-1-1
Arterial Stiffness, But Not Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilation, is Related to a Low Ankle-Brachial Index in the Elderly - The Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Arterial compliance and endothelium-dependent vasodilation are two characteristics of the vessel wall. In the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) study we studied the relationships between arterial compliance and endothelium-dependent vasodilation vs the ankle-brachial index, a clinically used index of peripheral artery disease.
Methods:
In the population-based PIVUS study (all aged 70), arterial compliance was determined by ultrasound as the distensibility of the carotid artery and the stroke volume to pulse pressure (SV/PP) ratio by echocardiography, while endothelium- dependent vasodilation was assessed by the invasive forearm technique with acetylcholine (EDV) and brachial artery ultrasound (FMD) in 519 subjects in whom the ankle-brachial index (ABI) was investigated.
Results:
After adjustments for gender and Framingham risk score, distensibility in the carotid artery and the SV/PP ratio were significantly reduced in subjects with a reduced ABI (<0.9) in both legs (n=15, p=0.0006 and p= 0.0003, respectively). Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was not significantly related to a reduced ABI.
Conclusion:
An impaired arterial compliance, but not endothelium-dependent vasodilation, was related to a low ABI in both legs after adjustment for major risk factors, suggesting that atherosclerosis in the leg arteries is associated with arterial compliance also in other parts of the vasculature.