Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Dec 1;29(1):31.
doi: 10.1186/s40885-023-00258-1.

Arterial stiffness and hypertension

Hack-Lyoung Kim  1
Affiliations
Review

Arterial stiffness and hypertension

Hack-Lyoung Kim. Clin Hypertens. .

Abstract

Arterial stiffness and hypertension are closely related in pathophysiology. Chronic high blood pressure (BP) can lead to arterial wall damage by mechanical stress, endothelial dysfunction, increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) activation. Hypertension also increases collagen fiber production and accelerates elastin fiber degradation. Stiffened arteries struggle with BP changes, raising systolic BP and pulse pressure. The resulting increased systolic pressure further hardens arteries, creating a harmful cycle of inflammation and calcification. Arterial stiffness data can predict target organ damage and future cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. Thus, early detection of arterial stiffness aids in initiating preventive measures and treatment plans to protect against progression of vascular damage. While various methods exist for measuring arterial stiffness, pulse wave velocity is a non-invasive, simple measurement method that maximizes effectiveness. Healthy lifestyle changes, RAAS blockers, and statins are known to reduce arterial stiffness. Further research is needed to ascertain if improving arterial stiffness will enhance prognosis in hypertensive patients.

Keywords: Arterial damage; Arterial stiffness; Cardiovascular risk; Hypertension; Target organ damage.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that he has no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Pathophysiological correlation between arterial stiffness and hypertension. RAAS, renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system; SBP, systolic blood pressure; PP, pulse pressure
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Invasively measured central aortic pressure waveforms and associated hemodynamic parameters in low-to-intermediate-risk (A) and high-risk (B) individuals. SBP, systolic blood pressure; AP, augmentation pressure; PP, pulse pressure; AIx, augmentation index; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; ICA, invasive coronary angiography
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Prognostic value of baPWV in the prediction of cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients [16]. baPWV, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tsao CW, Aday AW, Almarzooq ZI, Alonso A, Beaton AZ, Bittencourt MS, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics-2022 update: a report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2022;145(8):e153–e639. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aune D, Huang W, Nie J, Wang Y. Hypertension and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: an outcome-wide association study of 67 causes of death in the national health interview survey. Biomed Res Int. 2021;2021:9376134. doi: 10.1155/2021/9376134. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chirinos JA, Segers P, Hughes T, Townsend R. Large-artery stiffness in health and disease: JACC State-of-the-art review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;74(9):1237–1263. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2019.07.012. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee HY, Oh BH. Aging and arterial stiffness. Circ J. 2010;74(11):2257–2262. doi: 10.1253/circj.CJ-10-0910. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kim HL, Weber T. Pulsatile hemodynamics and coronary artery disease. Korean Circ J. 2021;51(11):881–898. doi: 10.4070/kcj.2021.0227. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources