Comparison between estimated and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity for cardiovascular and overall mortality prediction

Association between estimated pulse wave velocity and in-hospital and one-year mortality of patients with chronic kidney disease and atherosclerotic heart disease: a retrospective cohort analysis of the MIMIC-IV database

BACKGROUND

Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity has been identified as an autonomous predictor of cardiovascular mortality and kidney injury. This important clinical parameter can be non-invasively estimated using the calculated pulse wave velocity (ePWV). The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between ePWV and in-hospital as well as one-year mortality among critically ill patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD).

METHODS

This study included a cohort of 1173 patients diagnosed with both CKD and ASHD, sourced from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. The four groups divided into quartiles according to ePWV were compared using a Kaplan-Meier survival curve to assess variations in survival rates. Cox proportional hazards models were employed to analyze the correlation between ePWV and in-hospital as well as one-year mortality among critically ill patients with both CKD and ASHD. To further investigate the dose-response relationship, a restricted cubic splines (RCS) model was utilized. Additionally, stratification analyses were performed to examine the impact of ePWV on hospital and one-year mortality across different subgroups.

RESULTS

The survival analysis results revealed a negative correlation between higher ePWV and survival rate. After adjusting for confounding factors, higher ePWV level (ePWV > 11.90 m/s) exhibited a statistically significant association with an increased risk of both in-hospital and one-year mortality among patients diagnosed with both CKD and ASHD (HR = 4.72, 95% CI = 3.01-7.39, p < 0.001; HR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.31-3.19, p = 0.002). The analysis incorporating an RCS model confirmed a linear escalation in the risk of both in-hospital and one-year mortality with rising ePWV values (P for nonlinearity = 0.619; P for nonlinearity = 0.267).

CONCLUSIONS

The ePWV may be a potential marker for the in-hospital and one-year mortality assessment of CKD with ASHD, and elevated ePWV was strongly correlated with an elevated mortality risk in patients diagnosed with both CKD and ASHD.

Estimated Pulse Wave Velocity and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in the General Population

Background: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), acknowledged as a reliable proxy of arterial stiffness, is an independent predictor of cardiovascular (CV) events. Carotid-femoral PWV is considered the gold standard for the estimation of arterial stiffness. cfPWV is a demanding, time consuming and expensive method, and an estimated PWV (ePWV) has been suggested as an alternative method when cfPWV is not available. Our aim was to analyze the predictive role of ePWV for CV and all-cause mortality in the general population. Methods: In a stratified random sample of 1086 subjects from the general Croatian adult population (EH-UH study) (men 42.4%, average age 53 ± 16), subjects were followed for 17 years. ePWV was calculated using the following formula: ePWV = 9.587 - 0.402 × age + 4.560 × 10-3 × age2 - 2.621 × 10-5 × age2 × MBP + 3.176 × 10-3 × age × MBP - 1.832 × 10-2 × MBP. MBP= (DBP) + 0.4(SBP - DBP). Results: At the end of the follow-up period, there were 228 deaths (CV, stroke, cancer, dementia and degenerative diseases, COLD, and others 43.4%, 10.5%, 28.5%, 5.2%, 3.1%, 9.3%, respectively). In the third ePWV tercile, we observed more deaths due to CV disease than to cancer (20.5% vs. 51.04%). In a Cox regression analysis, for each increase in ePWV of 1 m/s, there was a 14% increase risk for CV death. In the subgroup of subjects with higher CV risk, we found ePWV to be a significant predictor of CV deaths (ePWV (m/s) CI 1.108; p < 0.029; HR 3.03, 95% CI 1.118-8.211). Conclusions: In subjects with high CV risk, ePWV was a significant and independent predictor of CV mortality.

Estimated pulse wave velocity as a predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with hypertension in China: a prospective cohort study

Background

Whether the estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV) in Chinese patients with hypertension can serve as an independent predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality remains unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the associations between ePWV and cardiovascular and all-cause mortalities and explored potential effect modifiers influencing these relationships. Finally, we compared the ePWV with the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) to determine which parameter better predicts mortality.

Methods

The population of this longitudinal cohort study was selected from the China H-type Hypertension Registry Study. The exposure and outcome variables were ePWV and all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities, respectively. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was applied to assess the associations between ePWV and all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. The performances of ePWV and baPWV in predicting death were compared using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve area, net reclassification improvement index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement index (IDI).

Results

This prospective study enrolled 14,232 patients with hypertension. Following an average follow-up of 48 months, 806 individuals succumbed to all-cause mortality, with 397 cases specifically attributed to cardiovascular diseases. The Cox proportional regression analysis revealed a significant association between a 1 m/s increase in ePWV and a 37% higher risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.37, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31-1.43) as well as a 52% higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.43-1.62) in the fully adjusted model. The findings for ePWV according to quartile demonstrated hazard ratios for all-cause mortality for Q2 (10.25 < ePWV < 11.32), Q3 (11.32 < ePWV < 12.40), and Q4 (ePWV ≥ 12.40) of 1.50 (HR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.07-2.10), 2.34 (HR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.73-3.18), and 4.09 (HR: 4.09, 95% CI: 3.05-5.49), respectively, compared with Q1 (ePWV < 10.25). The risk of cardiovascular death also increased in proportion to the rise in ePWV. The results of the area under the ROC curve, NRI, and IDI all indicated that ePWV outperformed baPWV in predicting mortality. The results of the subgroup analysis demonstrated that body mass index (BMI) and hypoglycemic drug use modified the association between ePWV and mortality.

Conclusions

The performance of ePWV in predicting all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities was superior to that of baPWV alone. Patients who were overweight or obese with higher ePWV values exhibited a significantly increased risk of all-cause death. The correlation between elevated ePWV and the risk of cardiovascular death was more pronounced in patients who had not received hypoglycemic drugs.

Estimated pulse wave velocity added additional prognostic information in general population: Evidence from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2018

Background

As an indicator of arterial stiffness, there is controversy over whether estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV) add additional prognostic information other than cardiovascular risk factors or traditional risk estimation model in general population.

Methods

Data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1999-2018 was analyzed. Cardiovascular risk factors were collected and Framingham Risk Score (FRS) was calculated. Using all-cause and cardiovascular mortality as outcomes, Cox and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis was performed. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, Harrell's C-statistic and net reclassification index (NRI) analysis were used to assess whether ePWV adds additional predictive value.

Results

The association between ePWV and outcomes was independent of cardiovascular risk factors (HR = 1.23 [95%CI 1.23-1.50] per m/s for all-cause mortality, and 1.52 [1.30-1.78] for cardiovascular mortality) and FRS (1.22 [1.12-1.32] for all-cause mortality, and 1.32 [1.10-1.59] for cardiovascular mortality). Except for ePWV and all-cause mortality adjusted by FRS, a liner association was found between ePWV and outcomes. For predictive value, the area under ROC and C-index of the model added with ePWV was higher than the one with FRS or risk factors alone (P < 0.01). The elevated ePWV upgraded 1338456 subjects from high-intermediate to high FRS category, and NRI was 3.61 % and 2.62 % for all-cause and cardiovascular deaths, respectively (all P < 0.001).

Conclusions

In general population, the present study demonstrated the association between ePWV and all-cause, cardiovascular mortality is independent of cardiovascular risk factors and traditional risk estimated model. ePWV also added additional information to them in predicting clinical outcomes.

Association of metabolically unhealthy non-obese and metabolically healthy obese individuals with arterial stiffness and 10-year cardiovascular disease risk: a cross-sectional study in Chinese adults

BACKGROUND

The relationship between metabolically healthy obese individuals (MHO) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is disputed. This study investigated the association of metabolically unhealthy non-obese(MUNO) individuals and MHO with arterial stiffness and 10-year CVD risk.

METHODS

A total of 13,435 participants were enrolled and further divided into the metabolically healthy non-obese (MHNO) phenotype (n = 4927), MUNO phenotype (n = 1971), MHO phenotype (n = 2537) and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) phenotype (n = 4000) according to body mass index (BMI) and metabolic status. We used brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) to measure arterial stiffness and the Framingham risk score (FRS) to evaluate the 10-year CVD risk.

RESULTS

The MUO and MUNO phenotypes had higher mean baPWV values than the MHO and MHNO phenotypes, regardless of age (1446.19 ± 233.65 vs. 1423.29 ± 240.72 vs. 1283.57 ± 213.77 vs. 1234.08 ± 215.99 cm/s, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that the MUNO and MUO phenotypes were independently correlated with elevated baPWV and 10-year CVD risk, while the MHO phenotype was independently associated with only the 10-year CVD risk. In metabolically healthy subjects, BMI showed a dose-dependent increase in the risk of elevated baPWV, with an adjusted OR of 1.007 (95% CI 1.004-1.010, P < 0.001). However, in metabolically unhealthy participants, the estimate for the relationship between elevated baPWV and BMI was nonsignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

The MUNO phenotype exhibits increased arterial stiffness and 10-year CVD risk. However, BMI is positively and dose-dependently correlated with arterial stiffness only in metabolically healthy subjects. We speculate that metabolic status may be a strong confounder in the obesity-elevated baPWV association.

Association between estimated pulse wave velocity and all-cause mortality in patients with coronary artery disease: a cohort study from NHANES 2005-2008

BACKGROUND

Arterial stiffness has been shown to be an independent risk factor for adverse events and all-cause mortality in patients. Although PWV is the gold standard for pulse wave velocity, its application in clinical practice is limited by the high cost and complexity. ePwv is a new, simple, non-invasive indicator of arterial stiffness. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between ePwv and all-cause mortality in patients with coronary artery disease.

METHODS

This is a cohort study, selected from NHANES 2005 to 2008, 402 patients with coronary artery disease were included. The ePWV was divided into two groups and KM survival curves were used to calculate cumulative mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. Restricted cubic spline were used to represent the relationship between ePWV and all-cause mortality in patients with coronary artery disease. Cox regression was used to diagnose the relationship between ePwv and all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study subjects was 68.5 ± 11.8 years, of which 282 (70.1%) were men and 120 (29.9%) were women. During 180 months of follow-up, 160 all-cause mortality occurred. KM survival curves indicated that all-cause mortality increased with increasing ePWV. The relationship between ePWV and all-cause mortality in patients with coronary artery disease was verified by cox models. Patients in higher ePWV tertile tended to have higher all-cause mortality. After complete multivariate adjustment, an increase in ePWV was positively associated with all-cause mortality (HR = 1.180, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.056-1.320). The multivariate-adjusted HR and 95% CI for the highest ePWV tertile was 1.582 (95% CI: 0.968-2.587) compared to the lowest tertile. In addition, the association between ePWV and mortality was visualized employing restricted spline curves, in which we found curves indicating a possible threshold for the effect of ePWV on all-cause mortality, with HR less than 1 when ePWV was less than 11.15 m/s; thereafter, there was a tendency for HR to increase with enhanced ePWV. Subgroup analysis showed that the correlation between ePWV and mortality persisted in population subgroups.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that higher ePWV is associated with increased all-cause mortality in patients with coronary artery disease, particularly when ePWV exceeds 11.15 m/s.

Predictive value of estimated pulse wave velocity with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the hypertensive population: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999-2014

BACKGROUND

Estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV) has been proposed as a potential approach to assess carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). However, the potential ability of ePWV to predict all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the population group with hypertension remains unresolved.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective cohort study using the data of 14 044 adults (age ≥18 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2014, and followed this cohort until the end of December 2019. ePWV was calculated by using a regression equation for age and mean blood pressure (MBP), derived by the Arterial Stiffness Collaborative Group.

RESULTS

The weighted mean age of the 14 044 adults included was 54.79 years; 49.42% of all participants were men. During the median follow-up period of 11 years, 3795 deaths were recorded. In the fully adjusted cox regression model, each 1 m/s increase in ePWV was associated with an increased risk of 56% [hazard ratio 1.61; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.49-1.64] risk for all-cause mortality. Every 1 m/s increase in ePWV resulted in an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, Alzheimer's disease, accidents, cancer, influenza and pneumonia by 60, 70, 47, 118, 73, 41 and 103%, respectively. ePWV has a robust predictive value for 5- and 10-year all-cause mortality in the hypertensive population with AUCs of 0.749 and 0.741, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Elevated ePWV is positively correlated with all-cause mortality and most cause-specific mortalities, independent of traditional risk factors. Moreover, ePWV demonstrates high accuracy in predicting 5-year and 10-year all-cause mortality, outperforming Framingham Risk Score.

Longitudinal association of remnant cholesterol with joint arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression beyond LDL cholesterol

BACKGROUND

Arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis are closely related with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Remnant cholesterol (RC) could predict CVD. However, its effect on joint arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the association of RC with joint arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression trajectories in the general population.

METHODS

This study collected data across five biennial surveys of the Beijing Health Management Cohort from 2010 to 2019. Multi-trajectory model was used to determine the joint arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression patterns by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and ankle brachial index (ABI). We also performed discordance analyses for RC vs. low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) using ordinal logistics model.

RESULTS

A total of 3186 participants were included, with three clusters following distinct arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression patterns identified using a multi-trajectory model. In the multivariable-adjusted ordinal logistics analyses, RC was significantly associated with baPWV and ABI progression (OR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.13-1.28, per 10 mg/dL). For the discordance analyses, the discordant low RC group was associated with decreased risk compared to the concordant group (OR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.60-0.89). People with a high RC level were at an increased risk of joint arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression, even with optimal LDL-C.

CONCLUSIONS

RC is independently associated with joint arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis progression beyond LDL-C. RC could be an earlier risk factor than LDL-C of arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis in the general population.

Association of Estimated Pulse Wave Velocity with Abdominal Aortic Calcification: A Large Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives

There is evidence that pulse wave velocity (PWV) can predict the occurrence of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), while the association between estimated PWV (ePWV) and AAC has not been reported, so our study aimed to analyze the association between ePWV and AAC.

Methods

The study enrolled 3140 adults between the ages of 40 and 80 who participated in the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, multivariate linear regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the association between ePWV and AAC.

Results

The ePWV was significantly higher in participants with AAC compared with those without AAC. And ePWV had a high correlation with age and AAC (correlation coefficient = 0.906 and 0.332, both P < 0.001). Individuals in high ePWV group had significantly higher percentage of AAC compared to low ePWV group (OR = 2.971, 95% CI 2.529–3.490, P < 0.001) in the crude model. After adjusting for all confounding variables, ePWV was still significantly higher (Model 3, OR = 1.962, 95% CI 1.612–2.389, P < 0.001). While after adjusting for all confounding variables plus age (Model 4), ePWV, when as a categorical variable, was no longer significantly positively associated with AAC. Additionally, the ROC curve indicated that both ePWV and age had some diagnostic value for AAC (AUC = 0.690, P < 0.001; AUC = 0.708, P < 0.001).

Conclusions

In the age range of 40–80 years, ePWV did have an association with AAC but did not have predictive power beyond age.

Estimated Pulse Wave Velocity Is Associated With All-Cause Mortality During 8.5 Years Follow-up in Patients Undergoing Elective Coronary Angiography

Background

Estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV) calculated by equations using age and blood pressure has been suggested as a new marker of mortality and cardiovascular risk. However, the prognostic potential of ePWV during long‐term follow‐up in patients with symptoms of stable angina remains unknown.

Methods and Results

In this study, ePWV was calculated in 25 066 patients without diabetes, previous myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, heart failure, or valvular disease (mean age 63.7±10.5 years, 58% male) with stable angina pectoris undergoing elective coronary angiography during 2003 to 2016. Multivariable Cox models were used to assess the association with incident all‐cause mortality, MI, and stroke. Discrimination was assessed using Harrell´s C‐index. During a median follow‐up period of 8.5 years (interquartile range 5.5–11.3 years), 779 strokes, 1233 MIs, and 4112 deaths were recorded. ePWV was associated with all‐cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] per 1 m/s, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.05–1.21) and MI (HR per 1 m/s 1.23, 95% CI, 1.09–1.39) after adjusting for age, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, smoking, estimated glomerular filtration rate, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, antihypertensive treatment, statins, aspirin, and number of diseased coronary arteries. Compared with traditional risk factors, the adjusted model with ePWV was associated with a minor but likely not clinically relevant increase in discrimination for mortality, 76.63% with ePWV versus 76.56% without ePWV, P<0.05.

Conclusions

In patients with stable angina pectoris, ePWV was associated with all‐cause mortality and MI beyond traditional risk factors. However, the added prediction of mortality was not improved to a clinically relevant extent.

Associations between estimated and measured carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity in older Black and White adults: the atherosclerosis risk in communities (ARIC) study

Introduction

Aortic stiffness offers important insight into vascular aging and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The referent measure of aortic stiffness is carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). cfPWV can be estimated (ePWV) from age and mean arterial pressure. Few studies have directly compared the association of ePWV to measured cfPWV, particularly in non-White adults. Moreover, whether ePWV and cfPWV correlate similarly with CVD risk remains unexplored.

Aim

(1) To estimate the strength of the agreement between ePWV and cfPWV in both Black and White older adults; and (2) to compare the associations of ePWV and cfPWV with CVD risk factors and determine whether these associations were consistent across races.

Methods and Results

We evaluated 4478 [75.2 (SD 5.0) years] Black and White older adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. cfPWV was measured using an automated pulse waveform analyzer. ePWV was derived from an equation based on age and mean arterial pressure. Association and agreement between the two measurements were determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), standard error of estimate (SEE), and Bland-Altman analysis. Associations between traditional risk factors with ePWV and cfPWV were evaluated using linear mixed regression models. We observed weak correlations between ePWV and cfPWV within White adults (r = 0.36) and Black adults (r = 0.31). The mean bias for Bland-Altman analysis was low at -0.17 m/s (95%CI: -0.25 to -0.09). However, the inspection of the Bland-Altman plots indicated systematic bias (P < 0.001), which was consistent across race strata. The SEE, or typical absolute error, was 2.8 m/s suggesting high variability across measures. In models adjusted for sex, prevalent diabetes, the number of prevalent cardiovascular diseases, and medication count, both cfPWV and ePWV were positively associated with heart rate, triglycerides, and fasting glucose, and negatively associated with body mass index (BMI) and smoking status in White adults (P < 0.05). cfPWV and ePWV were not associated with heart rate, triglycerides, and fasting glucose in Black adults, while both measures were negatively associated with BMI in Black adults.

Conclusions

Findings suggest a weak association between ePWV and cfPWV in older White and Black adults from ARIC. There were similar weak associations between CVD risk factors with ePWV and cfPWV in White adults with subtle differences in associations in Black adults.

Association between remnant cholesterol and arterial stiffness: A secondary analysis based on a cross-sectional study

The relationship between conventional lipid parameters and arterial stiffness (AS) has been verified by previous studies. However, it remains unknown whether non‐conventional lipid parameters have certain predictive effect on AS represented by brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Therefore, the study was to explore the relationship between remnant cholesterol (RC) and other non‐conventional lipid parameters and AS in the general population free from cardiovascular disease. The study included 912 participants aged 24–84 years from a medical health checkup center of Murakami Memorial Hospital. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to examine the association between non‐conventional lipid parameters and AS. The results showed that compared with non‐AS group, the AS group had higher RC, non‐high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (Non‐HDL‐C), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), lipoprotein combine index (LCI), atherosclerosis index (AI), triglycerides/HDL‐C (TG/HDL‐C), Castelli's risk index I (CRI‐I) and Castelli's risk index II (CRI‐II). Then, the authors divided participants into two groups by the optimal cutoff point of 23.6 of RC determined by Youden index. The baPWV was significantly higher in higher RC group compared with lower RC group, and RC was positively correlated with baPWV. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that, regarding lower RC as reference, higher RC was independently associated with higher risk of AS, independent of other risk factors (OR = 1.794, 95% CI: 1.267‐2.539, p = .001). The area under the curve of AS predicted by RC was higher than that of other non‐conventional lipid parameters (almost all p < .05). The findings indicated that increased RC was a significant predictor of AS.