Arterial Stiffness and Parameters for Its Assessment

Abstract

In this paper, we have presented a review of the changes that occur in the vasculature with age. These all lead to increased central arterial stiffness. Arterial stiffness lead to variation in the blood flow physics, which inturn causes the reflected pressure wave to reach the aortic root in the systole. This leads to increase in the systolic blood pressure and ultimately the pulse pressure increases. The article further reviews that vascular damage can be assessed by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the augmentation index (AI). Both these parameters can be easily determined noninvasively and are reproducible.

Keywords: Arterial stiffness, Augmentation index, Pulse wave velocity, Forward arterial wave, Reflected arterial wave