Relation Between Coronary Artery Disease, Aortic Stiffness, and Left Ventricular Structure in a Population Sample

Abstract

Abstract —To elucidate the relationship between coronary artery disease (CAD), aortic stiffness, and left ventricular structure, we recruited 55 subjects (33 men; average age, 63±1 years) with previously unknown CAD from a healthy general population sample, as well as 55 control subjects matched for gender, age, and serum cholesterol level. We measured arterial blood pressure and the systolic expansion of the transverse aorta and left ventricular structure by echocardiography. Aortic stiffness was higher in CAD patients than in controls, with a brachial pulse pressure of 59±3 versus 52±2 mm Hg and stiffness indices of E _p =212±26 versus 123±13 kN/m ² and β=16±2 versus 9±1 (all P P =NS). Most CAD patients (61%) were in the highest stiffness quartile defined by the normal control values ( P 2 , P <0.05). We conclude that aortic stiffness and left ventricular mass are increased in subjects newly diagnosed as having CAD. This might explain previously reported associations of an increased mortality, particularly from CAD, found among subjects with elevated pulse pressures.