Clinical value and measurement of arterial stiffness for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk in the light of novel findings

Cardiovascular risk stratification is fundamental for the development of effective prevention and therapeutic strategies. Although there are numerous scores and risk tables available, a difference still exists between the estimated and real number of cardiovascular events. Measurement of arterial stiffness can provide additional information to risk stratification. The most widely accepted parameter of arterial stiffness is aortic pulse wave velocity, which has been included in the guideline of the European Society of Hypertension in 2007 and 2013, although American guidelines still omit it. In this review the authors summarize the evidence with regards to the different steps required for clinical application of arterial stiffness measurement and they also discuss the questions that evolved from the methodological variability of different measurement techniques.