Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity is Increased and Associated with Disease Activity in Patients with Takayasu Arteritis

AIM: Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a rare inflammatory large-vessel vasculitis with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) is a widely used measure of arterial stiffness and serves as an indicator of either cardiovascular risk or severity of vascular damage. However, the studies about the relationship between TAK and ba-PWV are limited. This study aimed to investigate the use of ba-PWV in the patients with TAK. METHODS: Sixty-seven patients with TAK and 67 age and sex matched healthy controls were recruited. Patients with TAK were grouped according to disease activity. The routine hematological parameters and ba-PWV were summarized. RESULTS: Ba-PWV was significantly higher in the patients with TAK than in the healthy controls (P＜0.001). Ba-PWV was significantly higher in the patients with active TAK than in the patients with inactive TAK (P= 0.04). Multiple liner regression analysis indicated that TAK (β=363.97, P=0.013), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) (β=8.52, P=0.012) were independently related to ba-PWV. Ba-PWV did not correlate with C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in overall patients with TAK (both P＞0.05). In patients with TAK without immunosuppressive therapy, ba-PWV significantly correlated with CRP (r=0.419, P=0.008) but not ESR (P＞0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that ba-PWV was an independent predictor of active TAK in overall patients with TAK (OR=1.003, 95% CI=1.000-1.007; P=0.040) and patients with TAK without immunosuppressive therapy (OR=1.006, 95% CI=1.001-1.012; P=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: Being significantly increased in patients with TAK, ba-PWV is significantly associated with TAK disease activity, and it probably correlates with systematic inflammation.