Research for Vascular Failure: Current Topics in China

"Vascular failure" is a new concept, which can be used interchangeably with "vascular dysfunction". It can be evaluated with several arterial properties, such as endothelial function, arterial stiffness, wave reflection, and intima-media thickness. The current Chinese hypertension guidelines recommend some of these vascular properties for risk assessment and stratification in the management of hypertension. However, none of these measurements are routine in the clinical setting in China, because of the lack of available devices and insufficient knowledge on the clinical efficacy of these vascular measurements. In order to improve the use of these vascular measurements in clinical practice, therapeutic research is required to prove reversibility of vascular failure by either pharmacological treatments or lifestyle modifications. Other research directions include identification of emerging risk factors, risk prediction and prevention with vascular measurements, and the development of newer, more accurate and efficient devices.