Aortic pulse wave velocity as a marker of cardiovascular disease in subjects over 70 years old

Background Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a significant and independen t predictor of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in hypertensive subjects and i n patients with end-stage renal disease, but its contribution to cardiovasc ular risk in subjects between 70 and 100 years old has never been tested. Patients A cohort of 124 subjects (mean age: 87 +/- 7 years) was studied in two geriatric departments in a Paris suburb, Together with sphygmomanometr ic blood pressure measurements, aortic PWV was measured using a validated a utomatic device. Results Blood pressure, heart rate and body mass index, but not age, explai ned 48% of the PWV variability in this cohort, Furthermore, PWV was the maj or factor predicting the presence of CVD, The adjusted odds ratio was 17.44 (95% confidence intervals: 2.52-120.55), Antihypertensive drug therapy and low plasma albumin level had only an additive role, Blood pressure, partic ularly pulse pressure, had no predictive value, Conclusion In 70-100-year-old subjects, aortic PWV is a strong independent marker of CVD, a finding that remains to be to confirmed by long-term longi tudinal studies. J Hypertens 19:871-877 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilk ins.