Validity of CAVI measurements for diagnosing hypertension in middle-aged and elderly patients and correlations of these measurements with relevant factors

BACKGROUND: The high risk of hypertension in middle-aged and elderly people has led to the development of the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a novel predictor of cardiovascular events. OBJECTIVE: This paper aimed to determine how reliably hypertension can be diagnosed in middle-aged and elderly people by measuring CAVI. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-five subjects (69 males/126 females; mean age of 56.06 ± 2.08 years) were enrolled. CAVI were measured using a blood pressure and pulse monitor device. RESULTS: The CAVI was positively correlated with age, SBP, PP and PPI in the hypertension group (r= 0.656, 0.388, 0.445, 0.376; all P< 0.05). The mean CAVI was the significant difference between each age group. The ROC results showed that the best diagnostic point was 8.350, where the sensitivity was 72.2% and the specificity was 72.3%. The positive rate of the CAVI was higher than normal blood pressure for those over 60 years of age. CONCLUSION: Compared with normal blood pressure measurements, CAVI measurements are relatively reliable for predicting hypertension in those over the age of 60. More attention should be paid to the CAVI ⩾ 8.350, which may be regarded as a simple and noninvasive reference index of hypertension diagnosis for middle-aged and elderly.