Pulse Wave Velocity Predicts Stroke and Coronary Events in a Low to Moderate Cardiovascular Risk Population –The Ediva Project: Pp.10.419

Introduction: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) has been used as a marker of arterial stiffness, although its relationship with cardiovascular risk in the general population is not well known. Methods and Results: We studied a cohort of 2200 subjects (1290 men and 910 women) of Portuguese nationality, aged between 18 and 91 years (mean: 46.33 ± 13.76 years). Annual clinical evaluation determination of PWV with the Complior method was made, and the occurrence of major cardiovascular events was observed. During the follow-up (21.42 ± 10.76 months), there were 47 non-fatal major cardiovascular events (MACE - 2.1% of the sample), of which 25 (1.1%) were stroke and 18 (0.8%) coronary events. PWV was significantly higher in patients with stroke and coronary events compared with subjects with no events (11.83 ± 2.02 m / s vs 10:03 ± 2.21 m / s, and 11.62 ± 2.02 m / s vs 10:04 ± 2.26 m / s, respectively, p < 0001). The cohort was divided into 2 groups according to the classification of PWV as normal (VOP < 95th percentile) or abnormal (VOP > 95th percentile), according to normality criteria determined in a healthy population. The cumulative survival for stroke at 2 years was 99.6% in the normal PWV group and 97.3% for the high PWV group (p < 0.001), and 99.7% and 98.2% respectively for coronary events (p < 0.001). The hazard ratio (HR) for stroke (adjusted for other conventional risk factors) was 5,142 (95% CI: 1915–17804, p < 0.001) for the abnormal PWV group. Regarding coronary events, the adjusted HR was 3,681 (95% CI: 1215–11158, p < 0.001) for the abnormal PWV group. Conclusion: The results of this sub-analysis of the EDIVA project illustrate the clinical relevance of PWV as a marker of cardiovascular risk, particularly relevant in the prediction of stroke and coronary events, highlighting its importance in defining cardiovascular prognosis.