Segmental arterial stiffness in relation to B-type natriuretic peptide with preserved systolic heart function.

Abstract

Central arterial stiffness has been shown to play a key role in cardiovascular disease. However, evidence regarding such arterial stiffness from various arterial segments in relation to B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) remains elusive.A total of 1255 participants (47.8% men; mean age: 62.6 ± 12.3 [SD] years) with preserved left ventricular function (ejection fraction ≥50%) and ≥1 risk factors were consecutively studied. Arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV) by automatic device (VP-2000; Omron Healthcare) for heart-femoral (hf-PWV), brachial-ankle (ba-PWV), and heart-carotid (hc-PWV) segments were obtained and related to BNP concentrations (Abbott Diagnostics, Abbott Park, IL, USA).Subjects in the highest hf-PWV quartile were older and had worse renal function and higher blood pressure (all P 100 pg/ml (both P < 0.01), but only hf-PWV presented significant integrated discrimination improvement to predict risk for BNP concentrations (0.7%, P = 0.029).A significant segmental PWV associated with biomarker BNP concentrations suggests that arterial stiffness is associated with myocardial damage.