Analysis of Vascular Aging in Arterial Hypertension – Population-based Study: Preliminary Results

Background: Arterial Hypertension (AH) is an uncertain and complex physiopathological disease with the Arterial Stiffness (AS) as one of the main cardiovascular alterations. Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) is the gold standard marker for assessment of the vascular aging and an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based studies, in the restricted area of Vale do Ogunjá, Salvador-Bahia. Sociodemographic data, through questionnaire and clinical data were obtained. A PWV was evaluated by applanation tonometry using the device SphygmoCor® (AtCor Medical Pty Ltd, New South Wales, Australia). Frequency and descriptive measurements of central and dispersion were obtained, and the Chi-square test to statistical analysis. Results: PWV presented a higher mean in hypertensive patients (10.0 ± 2.2 m/s). There was a higher prevalence of AS in male individuals with advanced age and presence of risk factors. The prevalence ratio of AS was 3.7 times higher in hypertensive patients (p = 0.002; 95% CI: 1.6–8.5) and 7.5 times higher in patients aged above 40–74 years (p = 0.015; 95% CI: 2.4–23.1). Conclusion: There was an important relation between AS and increased of PWV in the presence of hypertension. The relevance of this study is associated with the use of non-invasive clinical evaluation of PWV, contributing to improve morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients. HIGHLIGHTS •Important association between arterial stiffness and arterial hypertension. •Prevalence of arterial stiffness in the male gender, advanced age. •Prevalence of arterial stiffness with high BMI, dyslipidemia and dysglycemia DM. •Arterial stiffness associated to age, schooling level, BMI and arterial hypertension.