Arterial Stiffness as a Measure of Vascular Dysfunction in Hypertensive Women

Hypertension, affecting a third of the world’s population is associated with many vascular changes in blood vessels, which include rise of peripheral resistance and arterial stiffness. As there are very few studies done on Indian hypertensive women, this project was taken up to determine the prevalence of arterial stiffness in them. In this study, arterial stiffness is determined by assessing the carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (C-F PWV). Fifty hypertensive female subjects between the ages 25 and 75 years were selected as subjects after informing the procedure and taking their consent. PWV was obtained from blood (BP) and electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. They showed that subjects belonged to 3 categories depending on the level of their blood pressure—normal, grade I, and grade II hypertensives. PWV increased progressively with level of hypertension ( p values = 0.0171 and <0.0001, which are significant for hypertensives having current BP equal to grade I and II hypertension, respectively). Vascular remodeling leading to loss of elasticity and impaired relaxation is believed to play a key role in development of arterial stiffness and subsequent rise of PWV in hypertensives. Arterial stiffness causes vascular dysfunction and is known to be an independent risk factor for many cardiovascular diseases like ventricular remodeling, diastolic dysfunction, myocardial infarction, and so forth. Control of Blood Pressure and its sequelae by dietary interventions and regular exercise is advisable.