Systemic arterial stiffness in patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma.

AIM: : To evaluate carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV) values of patients with pseudoexfoliation (PEX) glaucoma in comparison with healthy subjects. METHODS: Twenty-five consecutive patients with PEX glaucoma (PEXG group) and 25 controls (control group) were included in the study. CF-PWV was assessed by a noninvasive device by the measurements of pulse transmit time and the distance between 2 recording sites. RESULTS: The mean age was 64.7±7.3 (range, 55 to 79) years the in PEXG group and 63.8±6.6 (range, 51 to 77) years in the control group. There were 8 men (32%) and 17 women (68%) in the PEXG group and 11 men (44%) and 14 women (56%) in the control group. The CF-PWV of the PEX group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We have revealed an association between PEXG and increased CF-PWV. Also, increased CF-PWV may be considered as a risk factor for the development of PEXG.