Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Overview of Arterial Stiffness

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Arterial Stiffness

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Physiology ((BRIEFSPHYSIOL))

  • 655 Accesses

Abstract

Arterial stiffness is a novel risk factor for cardiovascular disease resulting from functional and structural changes within arteries. Greater arterial stiffening places negative consequences on the heart, because greater effort is required for the myocardium to overcome the resultant increase in afterload. While the etiology of arterial stiffness is not entirely clear, aging appears to be the principal accelerator of the functional and structural remodeling that occurs in the arteries after the third decade of life. Importantly, arterial stiffness can be easily assessed with potential for routine clinical measurement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. National Institute on Aging (2005) Aging hearts & arteries: a scientific quest. National Institute of Health, National Institute on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  2. (1988) Dorland’s illustrated medical dictionary, 27 edn. WB Saunders, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  3. O’Rourke MF, Hashimoto J (2007) Mechanical factors in arterial aging: a clinical perspective. J Am Coll Cardiol 50(1):1–13. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2006.12.050

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Levy MN, Pappano AJ (2007) Cardiovascular physiology, 9th edn. Mosby, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  5. Mitchell GF (2015) Arterial stiffness: insights from Framingham and Iceland. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 24(1):1–7. doi:10.1097/mnh.0000000000000092

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Safar ME, Nilsson PM, Blacher J, Mimran A (2012) Pulse pressure, arterial stiffness, and end-organ damage. Curr Hypertens Rep 14(4):339–344. doi:10.1007/s11906-012-0272-9

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Nichols WW, O’Rourke MF (1990) McDonald’s blood flow in arteries: theoretical, experimental, and clinical principles, 3rd edn. Edward Arnold, Philadelphia

    Google Scholar 

  8. Adji A, O’Rourke MF, Namasivayam M (2011) Arterial stiffness, its assessment, prognostic value, and implications for treatment. Am J Hypertens 24(1):5–17. doi:10.1038/ajh.2010.192

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Safar ME, O’Rourke MF (2006) Arterial stiffness in hypertension, 1st edn. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bortolotto LA, Hanon O, Franconi G, Boutouyrie P, Legrain S, Girerd X (1999) The aging process modifies the distensibility of elastic but not muscular arteries. Hypertension 34(4 pt 2):889–892

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Laurent S, Girerd X, Mourad JJ, Lacolley P, Beck L, Boutouyrie P, Mignot JP, Safar M (1994) Elastic modulus of the radial artery wall material is not increased in patients with essential hypertension. Arterioscler Thromb 14(7):1223–1231

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Zhang Y, Agnoletti D, Protogerou AD, Topouchian J, Wang JG, Xu Y, Blacher J, Safar ME (2013) Characteristics of pulse wave velocity in elastic and muscular arteries: a mismatch beyond age. J Hypertens 31(3):554–559. doi:10.1097/HJH.0b013e32835d4aec, discussion 559

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Mackenzie IS, McEniery CM, Dhakam Z, Brown MJ, Cockcroft JR, Wilkinson IB (2009) Comparison of the effects of antihypertensive agents on central blood pressure and arterial stiffness in isolated systolic hypertension. Hypertension 54(2):409–413. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.109.133801

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Mitchell GF (2014) Arterial stiffness and hypertension: chicken or egg? Hypertension. doi:10.1161/hypertensionaha.114.03449

    Google Scholar 

  15. Gao YZ, Saphirstein RJ, Yamin R, Suki B, Morgan KG (2014) Aging impairs smooth muscle-mediated regulation of aortic stiffness: a defect in shock absorption function? Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 307(8):H1252–H1261. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00392.2014

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Fleenor BS, Seals DR, Zigler ML, Sindler AL (2012) Superoxide-lowering therapy with TEMPOL reverses arterial dysfunction with aging in mice. Aging Cell 11(2):269–276. doi:10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00783.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Fleenor BS, Sindler AL, Marvi NK, Howell KL, Zigler ML, Yoshizawa M, Seals DR (2013) Curcumin ameliorates arterial dysfunction and oxidative stress with aging. Exp Gerontol 48(2):269–276. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2012.10.008

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Kim JH, Bugaj LJ, Oh YJ, Bivalacqua TJ, Ryoo S, Soucy KG, Santhanam L, Webb A, Camara A, Sikka G, Nyhan D, Shoukas AA, Ilies M, Christianson DW, Champion HC, Berkowitz DE (2009) Arginase inhibition restores NOS coupling and reverses endothelial dysfunction and vascular stiffness in old rats. J Appl Physiol 107(4):1249–1257. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.91393.2008

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Soucy KG, Ryoo S, Benjo A, Lim HK, Gupta G, Sohi JS, Elser J, Aon MA, Nyhan D, Shoukas AA, Berkowitz DE (2006) Impaired shear stress-induced nitric oxide production through decreased NOS phosphorylation contributes to age-related vascular stiffness. J Appl Physiol 101(6):1751–1759. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00138.2006

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Fleenor BS, Marshall KD, Durrant JR, Lesniewski LA, Seals DR (2010) Arterial stiffening with ageing is associated with transforming growth factor-beta1-related changes in adventitial collagen: reversal by aerobic exercise. J Physiol 588(pt 20):3971–3982. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2010.194753

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Fleenor BS (2013) Large elastic artery stiffness with aging: novel translational mechanisms and interventions. Aging Dis 4(2):76–83

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Dodson RB, Rozance PJ, Fleenor BS, Petrash CC, Shoemaker LG, Hunter KS, Ferguson VL (2013) Increased arterial stiffness and extracellular matrix reorganization in intrauterine growth-restricted fetal sheep. Pediatr Res 73(2):147–154. doi:10.1038/pr.2012.156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Qiu H, Zhu Y, Sun Z, Trzeciakowski JP, Gansner M, Depre C, Resuello RR, Natividad FF, Hunter WC, Genin GM, Elson EL, Vatner DE, Meininger GA, Vatner SF (2010) Short communication: vascular smooth muscle cell stiffness as a mechanism for increased aortic stiffness with aging. Circ Res 107(5):615–619. doi:10.1161/circresaha.110.221846

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Laurent S, Cockcroft J, Van Bortel L, Boutouyrie P, Giannattasio C, Hayoz D, Pannier B, Vlachopoulos C, Wilkinson I, Struijker-Boudier H (2006) Expert consensus document on arterial stiffness: methodological issues and clinical applications. Eur Heart J 27(21):2588–2605. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehl254

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Ding FH, Fan WX, Zhang RY, Zhang Q, Li Y, Wang JG (2011) Validation of the noninvasive assessment of central blood pressure by the SphygmoCor and Omron devices against the invasive catheter measurement. Am J Hypertens 24(12):1306–1311. doi:10.1038/ajh.2011.145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Mitchell GF (2015) Central pressure should not be used in clinical practice. Artery Res 9:8–13. doi:10.1016/j.artres.2014.11.002

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Mitchell GF (2009) Arterial stiffness and wave reflection: biomarkers of cardiovascular risk. Artery Res 3(2):56–64. doi:10.1016/j.artres.2009.02.002

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Westerhof BE, Westerhof N (2012) Magnitude and return time of the reflected wave: the effects of large artery stiffness and aortic geometry. J Hypertens 30(5):932–939. doi:10.1097/HJH.0b013e3283524932

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Mitchell GF, Parise H, Benjamin EJ, Larson MG, Keyes MJ, Vita JA, Vasan RS, Levy D (2004) Changes in arterial stiffness and wave reflection with advancing age in healthy men and women: the Framingham Heart Study. Hypertension 43(6):1239–1245. doi:10.1161/01.HYP.0000128420.01881.aa

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. McEniery CM, Yasmin HIR, Qasem A, Wilkinson IB, Cockcroft JR (2005) Normal vascular aging: differential effects on wave reflection and aortic pulse wave velocity: the Anglo-Cardiff Collaborative Trial (ACCT). J Am Coll Cardiol 46(9):1753–1760. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2005.07.037

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Virmani R, Avolio AP, Mergner WJ, Robinowitz M, Herderick EE, Cornhill JF, Guo SY, Liu TH, Ou DY, O’Rourke M (1991) Effect of aging on aortic morphology in populations with high and low prevalence of hypertension and atherosclerosis. Comparison between occidental and Chinese communities. Am J Pathol 139(5):1119–1129

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Gepner AD, Young R, Delaney JA, Tattersall MC, Blaha MJ, Post WS, Gottesman RF, Kronmal R, Budoff MJ, Burke GL, Folsom AR, Liu K, Kaufman J, Stein JH (2015) Comparison of coronary artery calcium presence, carotid plaque presence, and carotid intima-media thickness for cardiovascular disease prediction in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 8(1). doi:10.1161/circimaging.114.002262

    Google Scholar 

  33. Paini A, Boutouyrie P, Calvet D, Tropeano AI, Laloux B, Laurent S (2006) Carotid and aortic stiffness: determinants of discrepancies. Hypertension 47(3):371–376. doi:10.1161/01.hyp.0000202052.25238.68

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Roman MJ, Devereux RB, Kizer JR, Okin PM, Lee ET, Wang W, Umans JG, Calhoun D, Howard BV (2009) High central pulse pressure is independently associated with adverse cardiovascular outcome the strong heart study. J Am Coll Cardiol 54(18):1730–1734. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.05.070

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Borlaug BA, Olson TP, Abdelmoneim SS, Melenovsky V, Sorrell VL, Noonan K, Lin G, Redfield MM (2014) A randomized pilot study of aortic waveform guided therapy in chronic heart failure. J Am Heart Assoc 3(2), e000745. doi:10.1161/jaha.113.000745

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Drawz PE, Abdalla M, Rahman M (2012) Blood pressure measurement: clinic, home, ambulatory, and beyond. Am J Kidney Dis 60(3):449–462. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2012.01.026

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  37. Shimizu M, Hoshide S, Ishikawa J, Yano Y, Eguchi K, Kario K (2014) Correlation of central blood pressure to hypertensive target organ damages during antihypertensive treatment: the J-TOP study. Am J Hypertens. doi:10.1093/ajh/hpu250

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. London GM, Pannier B, Guerin AP, Marchais SJ, Safar ME, Cuche JL (1994) Cardiac hypertrophy, aortic compliance, peripheral resistance, and wave reflection in end-stage renal disease. Comparative effects of ACE inhibition and calcium channel blockade. Circulation 90(6):2786–2796

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Boutouyrie P, Laurent S, Girerd X, Benetos A, Lacolley P, Abergel E, Safar M (1995) Common carotid artery stiffness and patterns of left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients. Hypertension 25(4 pt 1):651–659

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Roman MJ, Saba PS, Pini R, Spitzer M, Pickering TG, Rosen S, Alderman MH, Devereux RB (1992) Parallel cardiac and vascular adaptation in hypertension. Circulation 86(6):1909–1918

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Franklin SS, Gustin W, Wong ND, Larson MG, Weber MA, Kannel WB, Levy D (1997) Hemodynamic patterns of age-related changes in blood pressure. The Framingham Heart Study. Circulation 96(1):308–315

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Bradley S. Fleenor & Adam J. Berrones

Authors
  1. Bradley S. Fleenor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adam J. Berrones
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Fleenor, B.S., Berrones, A.J. (2015). Overview of Arterial Stiffness. In: Arterial Stiffness. SpringerBriefs in Physiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24844-8_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation