Two age-related pathologies: the relation of arterial stiffness to aortic valve stenosis in men and women.

Introduction: There are similarities in etiology and pathophysiology between aortic valve stenosis and arterial stiffness. We studied whether arterial stiffness, measured as arterial pulse wave velocity (aPWV), was associated to aortic valve stenosis in both men and women. Method: We included 333 patients (172 men and 161 women) with aortic valve stenosis and information on the aPWV who were included in an ongoing observational cohort study. The aPWV was measured with a brachial cuff-based oscillometric measurement (Mobil-O-Graph 24 h PWA Monitor, I.E.M. Gmbh, Stolberg, Germany). The median aPWV was used to differ between low and high arterial stiffness group. Aortic valve stenosis was assessed with use of an echocardiogram and multislice computed tomography. Results were stratified for sex. Results: In men the peak aortic valve velocity and mean aortic valve pressure gradient were both higher in patients with a high aPWV (3,8 m/s vs 4,05 m/s (P = 0.018) and 32 mmHg vs 41 mmHg (P = 0.010), respectively). In women there were no differences found in diagnostic measurements of aortic valve stenosis between the low or high aPWV groups. Conclusion: We found aortic valve peak velocity and the mean aortic valve pressure gradient was higher in men with a high aPWV. We found no relation between aortic valve stenosis and arterial stiffness in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]