Determinants of Accelerated Progression of Arterial Stiffness in Normotensive Subjects and in Treated Hypertensive Subjects Over a 6-Year Period

Background— Elastic artery stiffness, a result of arterial aging, is an independent indicator of cardiovascular risk. The aim of the present longitudinal study was to compare the progression of aortic stiffness over a 6-year period in treated hypertensive subjects and normotensive subjects, and to evaluate the determinants of this progression. Methods and Results— Data for the present analysis were gathered from 483 subjects who had 2 health checkups at the Centre d’Investigations Preventives et Cliniques, the first one in 1992–1993 and the second one in 1998–1999. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) was used to evaluate aortic stiffness in 187 hypertensive subjects who were under treatment at the time of the first visit and throughout the follow-up period, and in 296 subjects who were classified as normotensive during the first visit and who remained treatment-free throughout the follow-up period. In both populations, PWV progression was higher in older subjects. Annual rates of progression in PWV...