Subclinical Longitudinal Change in Ankle-Brachial Index With Aging in a Community-Dwelling Population Is Associated With Central Arterial Stiffening

Preclinical systolic dysfunction relating to ankle-brachial index among high-risk PAD population with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) shares common clinical risk factors, for example, endothelial dysfunction, with preserved ejection fraction (LVEF) heart failure (HFpEF). Whether PAD is associated with preclinical systolic dysfunction and higher HF risk among individuals presenting preserved LVEF remains uncertain. We retrospectively included outpatients with at least one known or established cardiovascular (CV) risk factor with LVEF ≥ 50%. Patients were categorized into high risk and low risk of developing PAD (PAD vs Non-PAD) by ankle-brachial index (ABI) (≤ 0.90 or > 1.4) and further stratified based on their history of HFpEF (HFpEF vs. Non-HFpEF), resulting in the formation of four distinct strata. Preclinical systolic dysfunction was defined using dedicated speckle-tracking algorithm. A total of 2130 consecutive patients were enrolled in the study, with a median follow-up of 4.4 years. The analysis revealed a higher prevalence of high risk of developing PAD in patients with HFpEF compared to those without HFpEF (25.1% vs. 9.4%). Both high risk of developing PAD and HFpEF were independently associated with preclinical systolic dysfunction (global longitudinal strain, GLS ≥ - 18%) (odds ratio, OR: 1.38; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.03-1.86). In comparison to patients at low risk of developing PAD without HFpEF (Non-PAD/Non-HFpEF group), those categorized as having a high risk of developing PAD with HFpEF (PAD/HFpEF group) exhibited the most impaired GLS and a heightened susceptibility to heart failure hospitalization (hazard ratio, HR: 6.51; 95% CI: 4.43-9.55), a twofold increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.17-3.38), cardiovascular mortality (HR: 2.44; 95% CI: 1.08-5.51), and non-cardiovascular mortality (HR: 1.78; 95% CI: 0.82-3.84). A high risk of developing PAD was strongly linked to impaired preclinical systolic function and an increased likelihood for subsequent hospitalization for HF, all-cause mortality, CV mortality and non-CV mortality. There is a clear need for preventive strategies aimed at reducing hospitalizations for HF and mortality in this high-risk population.

Paradox of the Relationship between Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index and Ankle-Brachial Index in Patients with Lower Extremity Artery Disease

Objectives: Measurements of ankle-brachial index (ABI) and toe-brachial index (TBI) are standard examinations for evaluating arterial blood flow in lower extremities and diagnosing lower extremity artery disease (LEAD). It remains to be clarified whether cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a blood pressure-independent parameter of arterial stiffness, is associated with ABI and TBI in patients with LEAD. Methods: The subjects were 165 outpatients with LEAD. Arterial blood flow in lower extremities was evaluated by using ABI, TBI, and the degree of leg exercise-induced reduction of ABI (%). Results: CAVI showed significant positive correlations with ABI and TBI and showed significant inverse correlations with exercise-induced % decrease in ABI. CAVI was significantly higher in the 3rd tertile groups of ABI and TBI than that in the corresponding 1st tertile groups and was significantly lower in the 3rd tertile group of exercise-induced % decrease in ABI than that in the 1st tertile group. The above relationships remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes history, and habitual smoking. Conclusions: Although CAVI is a general parameter reflecting arterial stiffness, CAVI showed paradoxical associations, namely, positive associations with ABI and TBI and an inverse association with exercise-induced % decrease in ABI in patients with LEAD.

Vascular ageing: moving from bench towards bedside

Prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the largest public health challenges of our time. Identifying individuals at increased cardiovascular risk at an asymptomatic, sub-clinical stage is of paramount importance for minimizing disease progression as well as the substantial health and economic burden associated with overt CVD. Vascular ageing (VA) involves the deterioration in vascular structure and function over time and ultimately leads to damage in the heart, brain, kidney, and other organs. Vascular ageing encompasses the cumulative effect of all cardiovascular risk factors on the arterial wall over the life course and thus may help identify those at elevated cardiovascular risk, early in disease development. Although the concept of VA is gaining interest clinically, it is seldom measured in routine clinical practice due to lack of consensus on how to characterize VA as physiological vs. pathological and various practical issues. In this state-of-the-art review and as a network of scientists, clinicians, engineers, and industry partners with expertise in VA, we address six questions related to VA in an attempt to increase knowledge among the broader medical community and move the routine measurement of VA a little closer from bench towards bedside.

Dilated hypertrophic phenotype of the carotid artery is associated with accelerated age-associated central arterial stiffening

Hypertrophic carotid geometric phenotypes (h-CGP) are predictors of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). While arterial aging is hypothesized as a contributor to this associated risk, the association of CGPs with chronological age is not clear. In this manuscript we examine whether hypertrophic CGPs represent accelerated biological, rather than chronological, aging by examining their association with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), the hallmark of arterial aging. We analyzed data from 5516 participants of the SardiNIA study with a wide range of age at baseline (20-101 years), and a median follow-up time of 13 years (mean 11.5 years; maximum 17.9 years). Baseline CGPs were defined based on the common carotid lumen diameter, wall thickness, and their ratio. Subject-specific rates of change of PWV, blood pressure parameters, body mass index, glucose, and lipids were estimated using linear mixed effects models. Compared to those with typical(t-) CGP, those with dilated hypertrophy (dh-) CGP had a greater longitudinal increase in PWV; this increase was significantly greater among older individuals and men. The greater PWV longitudinal increase in dh-CGP remained significant after adjusting for baseline values and rates of change of covariates. Dilated hypertrophic CGP is independently associated with accelerated increase in age-associated arterial stiffening over time, with a strong association in men than in women. Future studies are needed to examine if this association mediates the increased risk for CVD observed in individuals with hypertrophic cardiac remodelling and the role of retarding it to reduce this risk. HIGHLIGHTS: • Individuals with dilated hypertrophic geometric phenotypes of the common carotid artery (increased age- and sex-specific wall thickness and lumen diameter) have greater future central arterial stiffening, independently of other determinants of arterial stiffening. • The dilated hypertrophic phenotype group has a greater age-specific arterial dilation, wall thickening, and stiffness (the arterial aging triad). This suggests that this phenotype is a form of accelerated aging that might explain the worse clinic outcomes observed in this group. • Understanding the natural history of the carotid geometric phenotype across the lifespan and the determinants of the deleterious progression towards the dilated hypertrophic phenotype are needed to develop interventions that reduce the adverse clinical outcomes associated with it.

Ankle-Brachial Index and Energy Production in People Without Peripheral Artery Disease: The BLSA

Background Lower ankle-brachial index (ABI) values within the 0.90 to 1.40 range are associated with poorer mitochondrial oxidative capacity of thigh muscles in cross-sectional analyses. Whether ABI decline is associated with greater declines in thigh muscle oxidative capacity with aging is unknown. Method and Results We analyzed data from 228 participants (100 men) of the BLSA (Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging), aged 39 to 97 years, with an ABI between 0.9 and 1.40 at baseline and at follow-up (mean follow-up period of 2.8 years). We examined mitochondrial oxidative capacity of the left thigh muscle, by measuring the postexercise phosphocreatine recovery rate constant (kPCr) from phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Greater kPCr indicated higher mitochondrial oxidative capacity. Although kPCr was available on the left leg only, ABI was measured in both legs. Longitudinal rates of change (Change) of left and right ABI and kPCr of the left thigh muscle were estimated using linear mixed effects models, and their association was analyzed by standardized multiple linear regressions. In multivariate analysis including sex, age, baseline kPCr, both left and right baseline ABI, and ABI change in both legs, (kPCr)Change was directly associated with ipsilateral (left) (ABI)Change (standardized [STD]-β=0.14; P=0.0168) but not with contralateral (right) (ABI)Change (P=0.22). Adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, this association remained significant (STD-β=0.18; P=0.0051). (kPCr)Change was steeper in White race participants (STD-β=0.16; P=0.0122) and body mass index (STD-β=0.13; P=0.0479). There was no significant association with current smoking status (P=0.63), fasting glucose (P=0.28), heart rate (P=0.67), mean blood pressure (P=0.78), and low-density lipoprotein (P=0.75), high-density lipoprotein (P=0.82), or triglycerides (P=0.15). Conclusions In people without peripheral arterial disease, greater decline in ABI over time, but not baseline ABI, was associated with faster decline in thigh mitochondrial oxidative capacity in the ipsilateral leg. Further studies are needed to examine whether early interventions that improve lower extremity muscle perfusion can improve and prevent the decline of muscle energetics.

Association of central arterial stiffness with hippocampal blood flow and N-acetyl aspartate concentration in hypertensive adult Dahl salt sensitive rats

BACKGROUND

Central arterial stiffness (CAS) is associated with elevated arterial blood pressure (BP) and is likely associated with stiffening of cerebral artery walls, with attendant cerebral hypoperfusion, neuronal density loss and cognitive decline. Dahl salt-sensitive (Dahl-S) rats exhibit age-associated hypertension and memory loss, even on a normal salt intake.

METHOD

We sought to explore whether central arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV), a marker of CAS, is associated with hippocampal cerebral blood flow (CBF) and neuronal density in hypertensive Dahl-S rats. We measured systolic BP (by tail-cuff plethysmography), aortic PWV (by echocardiography) and CBF and N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) (by magnetic resonance imaging) in 6 month-old male Dahl-S rats (n = 12).

RESULTS

Greater PWV was significantly associated with lower CBF and lower NAA concentration in the hippocampus, supporting a role of CAS in cerebrovascular dysfunction and decline in cognitive performance with aging.

CONCLUSION

These findings implicate increased CAS in cerebral hypoperfusion and loss of neuronal density and function in the Dahl-S model of age-associated cardiovascular dysfunction.

Longitudinal uncoupling of the heart and arteries with aging in a community-dwelling population

Although mechanical energy transfer between the heart and arterial system, referred to as arterial-ventricular (AV) coupling, is an important determinant of cardiovascular performance, how AV coupling changes over time within and among individuals as they age has not been fully explored. We studied 129 participants (baseline age 21-96) of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, free of clinical CVD. Participants underwent repeated multigated cardiac blood pool scans to estimate left ventricular (LV) volumes (SV, EDV, and ESV). Total systemic vascular resistance (TSVR), total arterial compliance (TAC), effective arterial elastance (Ea), and end-systolic LV elastance (Elv) were calculated using LV volumes and brachial BP measurements; calculated Ea/Elv was the measure of AV coupling. Linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate person-specific rates of change (Change) for each variable. The rate at which Ea increased over time was faster than the rate at which Elv increased, resulting in AV uncoupling (increased Ea/Elv) over time that was significantly greater in women than in men. Loss of arterial compliance was the main determinant of (Ea/Elv)_Change, which was negatively associated with changes in SV and EDV but positively with changes in ESV. Progressive AV uncoupling occurred with aging and was more pronounced in women than men. While Ea change did not differ by sex, Elv increased at a slower rate in women than in men. AV uncoupling was inversely associated with EDV and SV rates of change and a directly associated with an increase in ESV rate of change. Additional studies are needed to explore the functional consequences of AV uncoupling in healthy individuals with respect to the emergence of age-associated clinical cardiovascular diseases, such as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Association of pulse wave velocity and pressure wave reflection with the ankle-brachial pressure index in Japanese men not suffering from peripheral artery disease

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal association of arterial stiffness and pressure wave reflection with the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) in middle-aged Japanese subjects free of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

METHODS

ABI, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and radial augmentation index (rAI) were measured annually during the 9-year observation period in 3066 men (42 ± 9 years old) with ABI ≥1.00 at baseline of the study period, and not taking any antihypertensive medication.

RESULTS

In the cross-sectional assessments, mediation analysis demonstrated that baPWV showed both direct and indirect (via the rAI) associations with ABI, and rAI showed both direct and indirect (via the heart-arm difference of systolic blood pressure) associations with the ankle-arm difference of systolic blood pressure, both at study baseline and end of study period. Mixed model linear regression analysis of the repeated-measurement data obtained over the 9-year observation period demonstrated that annual increase of baPWV (estimate = 0.73 × 10^-4, p < 0.01) and rAI (estimate = 0.33 × 10^-3, <0.01) was associated with ABI. When baPWV and rAI were entered into the same model, only baPWV showed a significant longitudinal association with ABI.

CONCLUSION

In middle-aged Japanese men free of PAD, arterial stiffness may contribute to ABI directly and via pressure wave reflection. Pressure wave reflection may contribute to ABI directly and, at least in part, via attenuation of peripheral pulse pressure amplification.

Longitudinal Changes in Resting Metabolic Rates with Aging Are Accelerated by Diseases

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) declines with aging and is related to changes in health status, but how specific health impairments impact basal metabolism over time has been largely unexplored. We analyzed the association of RMR with 15 common age-related chronic diseases for up to 13 years of follow-up in a population of 997 participants to the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. At each visit, participants underwent measurements of RMR by indirect calorimetry and body composition by DEXA. Linear regression models and linear mixed effect models were used to test cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of RMR and changes in disease status. Cancer and diabetes were associated with higher RMR at baseline. Independent of covariates, prevalent COPD and cancer, as well as incident diabetes, heart failure, and CKD were associated with a steeper decline in RMR over time. Chronic diseases seem to have a two-phase association with RMR. Initially, RMR may increase because of the high cost of resiliency homeostatic mechanisms. However, as the reserve capacity becomes exhausted, a catabolic cascade becomes unavoidable, resulting in loss of total and metabolically active mass and consequent RMR decline.

Cellular Senescence in Arterial Diseases

Cell-proliferation potency is limited, as cells cannot proceed through the cell cycle continually. Instead, they eventually show an irreversible arrest of proliferation, commonly referred to as cellular senescence. Following the initial discovery of this phenomenon by Hayflick et al., studies have indicated that cells are also destined to undergo aging. In addition to the irreversible termination of proliferation, senescent cells are characterized by a flattened and enlarged morphology. Senescent cells become pro-inflammatory and contribute to the initiation and maintenance of sustained chronic sterile inflammation. Aging is associated with the accumulation of senescent cells in the cardiovascular system, and in general these cells are considered to be pathogenic because they mediate vascular remodeling. Recently, genetic and pharmacological approaches have enabled researchers to eliminate senescent cells both in vitro and in vivo. The term “senolysis” is now used to refer to the depletion of senescent cells, and evidence indicates that senolysis contributes to the reversal of age-related pathogenic phenotypes without the risk of tumorigenesis. The concept of senolysis has opened new avenues in research on aging, and senolysis may be a promising therapeutic approach for combating age-related disorders, including arterial diseases.

Subclinical Longitudinal Change in Ankle-Brachial Index With Aging in a Community-Dwelling Population Is Associated With Central Arterial Stiffening

Background Aging is associated with a modest decline in ankle-brachial index (ABI); however, the underpinnings of this decline are not fully understood. The greater systolic ankle than brachial blood pressure, a normal ABI implies, is partially attributed to lower central than peripheral arterial stiffness. Hence, we examined the hypothesis that the age-associated decline in ABI is associated with central arterial stiffening with aging, assessed by pulse wave velocity. Methods and Results We analyzed longitudinal data from 974 participants aged 27 to 95 years from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who were free of clinically significant cardiovascular disease. Participants had an average of 4 visits with a 6.8-year average follow-up time. Linear mixed-effects models showed that the average ABI decline beyond the age of 70 years was 0.03 per decade. In multiple regression analysis, the ABI rate of change was inversely associated with initial age (standardized β=-0.0711, P=0.0282), independent of peripheral disease factors and baseline ABI. After adjustment, the pulse wave velocity rate of change was inversely associated with ABI rate of change (standardized β=-0.0993, P=0.0040), rendering the association of the latter with initial age nonsignificant (standardized β=-0.0265, P=0.5418). Conclusions A modest longitudinal decline in ABI beyond the age of 70 years was shown to be independent of traditional risk factors for peripheral arterial disease but was accounted for by an increase in pulse wave velocity. A modest decline in ABI with aging might be a manifestation of changes in central hemodynamics and not necessarily attributable to peripheral flow-limiting factors.