Aortic pulse wave velocity as an independent marker of coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness has been known as a major contributory factor to cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension. Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a surrogate measurement of large artery damage, has not been ascertained as an independent risk factor of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of this study was to assess whether PWV is associated with CV risk. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively enrolled 326 consecutive patients undergoing coronary angiography for the assessment of suspected CAD. Arterial stiffness was assessed through aorto-femoral PWV using fluid-filled system. PWV was higher in patients with CAD than those without CAD (12.5 +/- 5.1 vs 10.2 +/- 3.1 m/s, p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, after entering for age, diabetes and other CV risk factors, PWV remained the significant independent variable for CAD (p = 0.050). When the severity of CAD was expressed as one-, two- or three-vessel disease, PWV was a significantly associated with the severity of CAD (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that PWV is an independent risk marker for CAD, as well as strongly associated with the severity of CAD.