Brachial artery distensibility and relation to cardiovascular risk factors in healthy young adults (The Bogalusa Heart Study)

doi:10.1016/S0002-9149(02)02244-0

The American Journal of Cardiology

Volume 89, Issue 8, 15 April 2002, Pages 946-951

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9149(02)02244-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

Arterial distensibility decreases with age and atherosclerosis leading to increased pulse pressure (PP) and increased left ventricular work, resulting in left ventricular hypertrophy, a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. Brachial artery pulse curve data were collected using the DynaPulse 2000A. Distensibility measured in 920 healthy young adults (40% men, 70% white, age range 18 to 38 years) was compared with levels of cardiovascular risk factors. Laboratory, anthropometric, blood pressure (BP), and heart rate measurements were also obtained. Distensibility tended to decrease with age, reaching significance in women (p <0.05). Whites had greater distensibility adjusted for age than blacks, with women more than men (p <0.05). Distensibility adjusted for PP was negatively correlated with measures of body size, BP, glucose, insulin, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol , very low densitiy lipoprotein cholesterol, and age (p <0.05). When distensibility was plotted as a function of PP to control for distending pressure, the lowest quintiles of systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BPs tended to have greater distensibility. No differences were seen by quintiles of lipids. In multivariate analyses, BP, age, anthropometric measures, gender, and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol entered the model (r² = 0.56; p <0.02). Thus, brachial artery distensibility, which includes a normalization factor to control for body size, showed race and gender differences (whites and women had greater distensibility than blacks and men, respectively), even after adjustment for age. Stiffer vessels with decreased distensibility were seen in subjects with higher levels of cardiovascular risk factors across the range of normal PP. Therefore, noninvasive measures of distensibility are useful in measuring subclinical vascular changes related to arteriosclerosis.

Section snippets

Population:

The Bogalusa Heart Study is a long-term epidemiologic study of cardiovascular disease risk factors from birth through early adulthood. This biracial community of approximately 22,000 people is two thirds white and one third black. A sample of young adults who were previously examined as part of earlier studies in childhood was selected. BP, laboratory, family history/health habit questionnaire, and anthropometric data were collected on 920 participants (40% men, 70% white, range 18 to 38 years)

Average values:

Characteristics of the study population by race and gender group are displayed in Table 1. Men were slightly older, taller, and weighed more than women, and black women weighed more than white women. Men had higher BP than women. As seen previously in the Bogalusa Heart Study population, blacks had higher BP levels than whites (SAS system).9 Women had higher heart rates. White men had the highest values for all lipid values, with the exception of HDL cholesterol, for which they had the lowest

Discussion

Observations made in this study of young adults demonstrate that brachial artery distensibility can be reproducibly measured noninvasively. As expected, distensibility decreased with age and increasing PP.13, 14, 15 Furthermore, healthy young adults with higher levels of cardiovascular risk factors demonstrate stiffer vessels, with decreased distensibility across the range of normal PP.

As seen in previous investigations, the strongest determinants of distensibility were measures of BP, with

Acknowledgements

The Bogalusa Heart Study represents the collaborative efforts of many people whose cooperation is gratefully acknowledged. We wish to thank the Bogalusa staff and the children of Bogalusa without whom this study would not be possible. We also appreciate the cooperation of Shiu-Shin Chio, PhD, and Pulse Metric, Inc., San Diego, California.

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^☆: This study was supported by Grant 5R01 HL38844 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the U.S. Public Health Service “Early Natural History of Arteriosclerosis,” Bethesda, Maryland.

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Brachial artery distensibility and relation to cardiovascular risk factors in healthy young adults (The Bogalusa Heart Study)☆

Abstract

Section snippets

Population:

Average values:

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Am J Cardiol

Decreased arterial elasticity associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors in the young. The Bogalusa Heart Study

Arteriosclerosis

Correlation of ultrasound-measured common carotid artery stiffness with pathological findings

Arterioscler Thromb

Noninvasive pulse wave analysis for the early detection of vascular disease

Hypertension

Arterial compliance by cuff sphygmomanometer; Application to hypertension and early changes in subjects at genetic risk

Hypertension

Studies of blood pressures in children, ages 5-14 years, in a total biracial community:the Bogalusa Heart Study

Circulation

Development, and validation of a non-invasive method to determine arterial pressure, and vascular compliance

Am J Cardiol

Validation of pulse dynamic blood pressure measurement by auscultation

Blood Press Monit

Epidemiology of early cardiovascular disease:observations from the Bogalusa Heart Study

Am J Human Biol

Race and gender differences in serum lipoproteins of children, adolescents, and young adults:emergence of an adverse lipoprotein pattern in white males. The Bogalusa Heart Study

Prev Med

Corresponding pulse pressure and arterial compliance variations during ambulatory monitoring

Reduced vascular compliance as a marker for essential hypertension

Am J Hypertens

Age associated alterations in structure and function of the cardiovascular system

Am J Geriatr Cardiol

Aging, changes in the cardiovascular system, and responses to stress

Am J Hypertens