Relationship between Arterial Stiffness Assessed by Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity and Coronary Artery Disease Severity Assessed by the SYNTAX Score

Aim: The SYNTAX score is a semi-quantitative angiographic tool used to determine the extent and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD). Automatic computer-assisted measurement of the brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is a reproducible and valid method by which to assess arterial stiffness. Limited information is available for the association between the SYNTAX score and arterial stiffness in a CAD patient. We aim to assess the association between arterial stiffness determined by PWV and CAD severity assessed by angiography and the SYNTAX score. Methods: 321 subjects underwent measurement of both baPWV and angiography from 2010 to 2011. BaPWV was divided into tertiles. Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between the SYNTAX score and baPWV. Results: After adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking habits, family history of CAD, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, fasting glucose, serum creatinine, uric acid and cysteine proteinase, analyses revealed that baPWV groups were significantly associated with the SYNTAX score. Compared with the lowest baPWV tertile, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of having a SYNTAXHIG for the MID and HIG baPWV tertiles were 4.76 (95% confidence interval: 1.71-6.33) and 4.13 (95% confidence interval: 1.12-5.27), respectively. We also used multiple linear regression analyses to assess the association between baPWV and the SYNTAX score, which showed that baPWV was associated with the SYNTAX score. Conclusion: Arterial stiffness determined by PWV is related to CAD severity assessed by angiography and the SYNTAX score. J Atheroscler Thromb, 2012; 19: 970-976.