Pulse Wave Velocity Predicts Cardiovascular Mortality Findings From the Hawaii-Los Angeles-Hiroshima Study

• Published in: Circulation Journal Vol. 69; no. 3; pp. 259 - 264
• Main Authors: Imazu, Michinori, Kohno, Nobuoki, Tasaki, Naohito, Toyofuku, Mamoru, Okimoto, Tomokazu, Yamamoto, Hideya, Yamane, Kiminori, Shokawa, Tomoki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Circulation Society 01.03.2005
• Subjects: Aged; Americas - epidemiology; Aorta, Abdominal - physiology; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases - diagnosis; Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality; Cause of Death; Cohort Studies; Diabetes; Electrocardiography; Electrodiagnosis - methods; Electrodiagnosis - standards; Female; Femoral Artery - physiology; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Japan - ethnology; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Pulsatile Flow; Pulse; Pulse wave velocity; Risk Factors; ROC Curve; Survival Analysis; Americas; Japan
• ISSN: 1346-9843; 1347-4820
• DOI: 10.1253/circj.69.259

Background Arterial stiffness measurements, generally from pulse wave velocity (PWV), are widely used with little knowledge of their relationship to long-term cardiovascular mortality in general populations. Methods and Results We studied a cohort of 492 Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii (mean age: 63.7 ±8.8 years) to assess the relationship between PWV and cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality. During the 10-year follow-up, 43 patients died (14 from cardiovascular events). The cohort was divided into 2 groups by the cut-off value of PWV (9.9 m/s) represented in the receiver operating characteristic curve. The risk ratio for PWV values >9.9 m/s to all-cause mortality was 1.28 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14-1.42], and adjusted for other risk factors this ratio was 1.42 (95% CI: 0.96-2.11). The corresponding risk ratios for cardiovascular mortality was 4.46 (95% CI: 1.61-12.32) and 4.24 (95% CI: 1.39-12.96), respectively. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that an increased PWV value is associated with future cardiovascular disease death in Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii. (Circ J 2005; 69: 259 - 264)