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Arterial Compliance Measurement in Overweight and Hypertensive Children

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Abstract

Objectives

To investigate the pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation index (Alx), measures of arterial stiffness, in relation to hypertension and obesity, the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.

Methods

Two groups of pediatric patients, 31 children and adolescents with hypertension and 85 with overweight, were analysed and compared to the control group (50 healthy individuals). Subjects were sampled by opportunity sampling at the Department of Pediatrics, Maribor. In each patient, blood pressure, anthropometrical parameters and PWV measurements using the applanation tonometry technique were performed.

Results

There was a significant correlation between PWV and age (r = 0.461, p = 0.001) in the control group, whereas no correlation was obtained between PWV and body mass index (BMI) or central mean arterial pressure (CMAP). In the hypertensive group, PWV only correlated with CMAP (r = 0.496, p = 0.005). A significant correlation was found in the overweight group between PWV and both age and BMI (r = 0.484, p < 0.001 and r = 0.347, p = 0.001, respectively). Alx results were not taken into consideration.

Conclusions

The results of this pilot study show that overweight and hypertensive children and adolescents are associated with less compliant arteries than their healthy peers, which could be used for screening of patients with expected early cardiovascular risk.

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Abbreviations

PWV:

Pulse wave velocity

PWA:

Pulse wave analysis

Alx:

Augmentation index

AP:

Augmentation pressure

PP:

Pulse pressure

ECG:

Electrocardiogram

BMI:

Body mass index

CMAP:

Central mean arterial pressure

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Centre Maribor, who supported them throughout this research project, especially to nurses Nina and Valerija, who helped them with the data collection.

Contributions

MM and SN: Planned the study, measured subjects, analysed and interpreted the data, wrote the manuscript; NMV: Planned the study, collected the patients, supervised and guided the study, revised the data analysis and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. NMV will act as guarantor of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Taborska 8, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Mirjam Močnik & Sara Nikolić

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University Medical Centre Maribor, Ljubljanska ulica 5, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Nataša Marčun Varda

Authors
  1. Mirjam Močnik
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  2. Sara Nikolić
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  3. Nataša Marčun Varda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara Nikolić.

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Additional information

Mirjam Močnik and Sara Nikolić contributed equally to this work.

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Močnik, M., Nikolić, S. & Varda, N.M. Arterial Compliance Measurement in Overweight and Hypertensive Children. Indian J Pediatr 83, 510–516 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-015-1965-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-015-1965-2

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