Arterial stiffness as a predictor of cardiovascular events in coronary heart disease

To date, there is much evidence confirming that impaired arterial elastic properties have a direct impact on prognosis in patients with chronic renal failure, arterial hypertension, or diabetes mellitus in the general population and in the elderly. At the same time, in most cohort studies the manifestations of coronary heart disease (CHD) constitute about two thirds of developed cardiovascular events (CVE); the value of arterial stiffness after CHD manifestations has not been conclusively ascertained. There are various opinions on the mechanism and pattern of this association. Rigidity of large vessels may be a marker of cardiac artery lesion, on the one hand, and promote deterioration of myocardial ischemia in the presence of coronary atherosclerosis, on the other. This review of literature discusses the pathogenetic and clinical aspects of the impact of stiffness of the great vessels on the development of CVE.