Aortic stiffness measurement serves as a tissue biomarker that improves cardiovascular risk prediction beyond classical risk factors in asymptomatic hypertensive subjects.
Does the measurement of aortic stiffness improve the prediction of future cardiovascular events in asymptomatic hypertensive subjects compared to classical risk scores?
Measuring aortic stiffness serves as a valuable tissue biomarker that improves cardiovascular risk stratification in asymptomatic hypertensive patients, preventing them from being mistakenly classified as low or moderate risk.
Classical risk scores may underestimate the risk of cardiovascular events in specific risk groups suitable for early prevention, such as asymptomatic hypertensive subjects. Arterial stiffness and wave reflection are now well accepted as the most important determinants of increasing systolic and pulse pressures in aging societies, thus affording a major contribution to stroke and myocardial infarction. A major reason for measuring arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients comes from the demonstration that arterial stiffness has a predictive value for cardiovascular events, beyond classical cardiovascular risk factors. Aortic stiffening also gives direct evidence of target organ damage, and improves the determination of the overall cardiovascular risk of asymptomatic hypertensive subjects. In clinical practice, the measurement of aortic stiffness may avoid patients being mistakenly classified as at low or moderate risk, when they actually have an abnormally high aortic stiffness placing them within a higher-risk group. The present mini-review successively addresses the concept of 'tissue' biomarker, applies it to arterial stiffness, describes the methodology of measurement, gives some pathophysiological links in order to explain the occurrence of stroke and myocardial infarction in patients with high arterial stiffness, and raises the issue of whether arterial stiffness is a surrogate marker.
Laurent et al. (Fri,) conducted a review in Asymptomatic hypertension. Aortic stiffness measurement vs. Classical risk scores was evaluated. Aortic stiffness measurement serves as a tissue biomarker that improves cardiovascular risk prediction beyond classical risk factors in asymptomatic hypertensive subjects.