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Brachial Artery Stiffens With Age Only in Hypertensives: Presented at ASH(HYP)

By Maggie Schwarz

NEW YORK, NY -- May 21, 2003 -- Brachial artery distensibility in hypertensive, but not normotensive individuals, appears to affected by age, say researchers.

This finding was presented by Michael Gutkin, MD, here at the 18^th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension. Dr. Gutkin and co-investigators, from the New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, set out to find out how muscular arteries behave in response to aging, and increasing distending pressure. More is known about how central arteries (aorta, carotid, and iliofemoral arteries) than muscular arteries like the brachial artery.

The investigators studied brachial artery distensibility in normotensive and hypertensive individuals 24 to 96 years of age. Subjects were divided into 4 categories: normotensive, untreated hypertensive, treated hypertensive (not on a beta blocker), and treated hypertensive (on drugs including a beta blocker).

Common methods used to measure arterial distensibility are pulse wave velocity, reflected wave, and ultrasonographic measurement of the diameter of the artery with a rise in blood pressure.

Normotensives demonstrated no correlation between mean age and brachial artery distensibility. An inverse correlation was noted in untreated hypertensives (P=.047), treated hypertensives (P<.0001), and hypertensives taking a beta blocker (P<.0001). Dr. Gutkin said that the artery became proportionately less distensible in normotensives with an increase in systolic blood pressure than it did in hypertensives.

Dr. Gutkin thinks that arterial rigidity increases cardiovascular risk out of proportion to age, blood pressure, and other risk factors such as physical inactivity. He recommends that 2 groups of patients, at opposite ends of the spectrum, be sent for arterial distensibility testing: those with resistant hypertension, and those whose blood pressure is slightly elevated, not high enough to warrant drug therapy. The test results could be the deciding factor in these patients. "Distensibility testing will become standard clinical practice in the future," he predicted.


[Study title: Brachial Artery Distensibility (BAD) Varies Differently in Relation to Systolic Blood Pressure and Age in Normotensives (NT) vs. Hypertensives (HT). Abstract P-287]

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