Arterial stiffness and left-ventricular diastolic dysfunction: Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study-CVD

Brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness, is an established cardiovascular risk factor of ventricular stiffening. We studied the association of baPWV with left-ventricular (LV) diastolic function in a sub-study of the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. In all, 378 Chinese subjects with a normal ejection fraction (>50%) had baPWV measurement by a noninvasive automatic waveform analyser, carotid intima-medial thickness (IMT) measurement by B-mode ultrasonography and cardiac diastolic function assessment by echocardiography. After adjusting for age, both baPWV and IMT were associated with LV mass index, posterior wall end-diastolic thickness and inter-ventricular end-diastolic thickness, but only baPWV was associated with deceleration time, atrial flow velocity and E / A ratio. Multivariable linear regression model showed that baPWV and mean arterial pressure, but not IMT, were significantly associated with E / A ratio ( β =−0.02, P =0.03 and β =−0.36, P =0.02, respectively). The receiver operator characteristic curve showed that baPWV was better than pulse pressure or mean arterial pressure to detect LV diastolic dysfunction ( E / A