A high normal ankle–brachial index combined with a high pulse wave velocity is associated with cerebral microbleeds

OBJECTIVES:Arterial stiffness is associated with the pathogenesis of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs). The ankle–brachial index (ABI) is used to predict arterial stiffness. We hypothesized that the increase in ABI with age occurs as a result of increasing arterial stiffness and wave reflection, and is thus associated with target organ damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ABI, brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and CMBs. METHODS:We recruited 990 cardiovascular disease-free and stroke-free participants [median age 53 (24–86) years, 531 were woman] who underwent brain MRI, ABI, and baPWV at a health checkup. RESULTS:The prevalence of CMBs was 4%. Both ABI (1.14 vs. 1.10) and baPWV (17.29 vs. 14.68 m/s) were higher in participants with CMBs than those without. Cutoff values of ABI and baPWV for the presence of CMBs were 1.12 and 16.07 m/s, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that ABI at least 1.12 [odds ratio (OR) 2.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.30–5.37, P