The predictive value of arterial stiffness on major adverse cardiovascular events in individuals with mildly impaired renal function

Abstract

Objectives

Despite growing evidence that arterial stiffness has important predictive value for cardiovascular disease in patients with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease, the predictive significance of arterial stiffness in individuals with mildly impaired renal function has not been established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of arterial stiffness on cardiovascular disease in this specific population.

Materials and methods

We analyzed measurements of arterial stiffness (carotid–femoral pulse-wave velocity [cf-PWV]) and the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in 1,499 subjects from a 4.8-year longitudinal study.

Results

A multivariate Cox proportional-hazard regression analysis showed that in individuals with normal renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m²), the baseline cf-PWV was not associated with occurrence of MACEs (hazard ratio 1.398, 95% confidence interval 0.748–2.613; P=0.293). In individuals with mildly impaired renal function (eGFR <90 mL/min/1.73 m²), a higher baseline cf-PWV level was associated with a higher risk of MACEs (hazard ratio 2.334, 95% confidence interval 1.082–5.036; P=0.031).

Conclusion

Arterial stiffness is a moderate and independent predictive factor for MACEs in individuals with mildly impaired renal function (eGFR <90 mL/min/1.73 m²).

Keywords:

• epidemiology
• arterial stiffness
• impaired renal function
• predictive value
• MACEs

Acknowledgments

We thank our colleagues in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at PLA General Hospital for help with biochemical measurements. We are also grateful to all study participants for their involvement in the study. This research was supported by a grant from the Key National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB517503, 2013CB530804) and the Key Science and Technology Foundation of China (2012ZX09303004-002) to PY.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.