Decreased elasticity in large and medium-sized arteries has been postulated
to be associated with cardiovascular diseases. We prospectively examined t
he relation between arterial elasticity and the development of hypertension
over 6 years of follow-up in a cohort of 6992 normotensive men and women a
ged 45 to 64 years at baseline from the biracial, population-based Atherosc
lerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Arterial elasticity was measured
from high-resolution B-mode ultrasound examination of the left common carot
id artery as adjusted arterial diameter change (in micrometers, simultaneou
sly adjusted for diastolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, pulse pressure s
quared, diastolic arterial diameter, and height), Peterson's elastic modulu
s (in kilopascals), Young's elastic modulus (in kilopascals), and beta stif
fness index. Incident hypertension (n=551) was defined as systolic blood pr
essure greater than or equal to 160 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure greater
than or equal to 95 mm Hg, or the use of antihypertensive medication at a
follow-up examination conducted every 3 years. The age-, ethnicity-, center
-, gender-, education-, smoking-, heart rate-, and obesity-adjusted means (
SE) of baseline adjusted arterial diameter change, Peterson's elastic modul
us, Young's elastic modulus, and beta stiffness index were 397 (5), 148 (2.
0), 787 (12.7), and 11.43 (0.16), respectively, in persons who developed hy
pertension during follow-up, in contrast to 407 (1), 124 (0.6), 681 (3.7),
and 10.34 (0.05), respectively, for persons who did not. The similarly adju
sted cumulative incident rates of hypertension from the highest to the lowe
st quartiles of arterial elasticity were 6.7%, 8.0%, 7.3%, and 9.6%, respec
tively, when measured by adjusted arterial diameter change (P<0.01). One st
andard deviation decrease in arterial elasticity was associated with 15% gr
eater risk of hypertension, independent of established risk factors for hyp
ertension and the level of baseline blood pressure. These results suggest t
hat lower arterial elasticity is related to the development of hypertension
.