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Review
. 2023 Mar 16;10(3):127.
doi: 10.3390/jcdd10030127.

The Impact of the Blood Lipids Levels on Arterial Stiffness

Mirela Baba  1 , Mihaela Maris  1   2 , Daniela Jianu  3   4 , Constantin Tudor Luca  5   6 , Dana Stoian  7   8 , Ioana Mozos  1   2
Affiliations
Review

The Impact of the Blood Lipids Levels on Arterial Stiffness

Mirela Baba et al. J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. .

Abstract

Arterial stiffness is a recognized predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and death. It is an early indicator of arteriosclerosis and is influenced by numerous risk factors and biological processes. The lipid metabolism is crucial and standard blood lipids, non-conventional lipid markers and lipid ratios are associated with arterial stiffness. The objective of this review was to determine which lipid metabolism marker has a greater correlation with vascular aging and arterial stiffness. Triglycerides (TG) are the standard blood lipids that have the strongest associations with arterial stiffness, and are often linked to the early stages of cardiovascular diseases, particularly in patients with low LDL-C levels. Studies often show that lipid ratios perform better overall than any of the individual variables used alone. The relation between arterial stiffness and TG/HDL-C has the strongest evidence. It is the lipid profile of atherogenic dyslipidemia that is found in several chronic cardio-metabolic disorders, and is considered one of the main causes of lipid-dependent residual risk, regardless of LDL-C concentration. Recently, the use of alternative lipid parameters has also been increasing. Both non-HDL and ApoB are very well correlated with arterial stiffness. Remnant cholesterol is also a promising alternative lipid parameter. The findings of this review suggest that the main focus should be on blood lipids and arterial stiffness, especially in individuals with cardio-metabolic disorders and residual cardiovascular risk.

Keywords: arterial stiffness; atherogenic dyslipidemia; blood lipids; residual cardio-vascular risk; vascular aging.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Factors that contribute to arterial wall stiffening.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of lipid markers on vascular function.
Figure 3
Figure 3
VLDLs and arterial stiffness (VLDL: very low-density lipoprotein, LDL: low-density lipoprotein, ox-LDL: oxidized-low-density lipoprotein).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Proprieties of Glycated LDL (Glycated LDL: Glycated low-density lipoprotein, NO: nitric oxide).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Insulin and aldosterone and the development of vascular stiffness (SGK-1: Serum and glucocorticoid kinase 1).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Lipid parameters and ratios associated with arterial stiffness in particular conditions (TC = total cholesterol, TG = triglycerides, LDL = low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, HDL = high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-HDL = non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, RC = remnant cholesterol).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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