Relationship of cardiac involvement with arterial stiffness in a general population of 65-year-olds in the PROOF study

INTRODUCTION: Stiffness of the large arteries plays a role in the development of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), although there are few data on this relation in the general population. The cohort of the Prognostic Indicator of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events study is a representative population of 65-year-old individuals in which this relation can be examined. METHOD: To evaluate arterial stiffness, we used the ambulatory measure of the QKD interval that enables calculation of an isobaric index of arterial stiffness, QKD100-60. We analyzed its relationship with electrocardiographic criteria of LVH and left atrial remodeling on 775 individuals in the Prognostic Indicator of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events cohort. RESULTS: We demonstrated a significant relationship between arterial stiffness and prevalence of electrocardiographically determined LVH and atrial remodeling, independent of 24-h blood pressure. Individuals belonging to the highest quartile of arterial stiffness (QKD100-60 <195 ms) had double the risk of ECG anomalies. CONCLUSION: This study is further support of a link between arterial stiffness and the risk of LVH or atrial remodeling in the general population. This risk is independent of age and 24-h blood pressure.