Generic placeholder image

Current Hypertension Reviews

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1573-4021
ISSN (Online): 1875-6506

Review Article

Effect of Heart Rate on Arterial Stiffness as Assessed by Pulse Wave Velocity

Author(s): Isabella Tan, Mark Butlin, Bart Spronck, Hanguang Xiao and Alberto Avolio*

Volume 14, Issue 2, 2018

Page: [107 - 122] Pages: 16

DOI: 10.2174/1573402113666170724100418

Price: $65

Abstract

Vascular assessment is becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. In particular, clinical assessment of arterial stiffness, as measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), is gaining increased interest due to the recognition of PWV as an influential factor on the prognosis of hypertension as well as being an independent predictor of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Whilst age and blood pressure are established as the two major determinants of PWV, the influence of heart rate on PWV measurements remains controversial with conflicting results being observed in both acute and epidemiological studies. In a majority of studies investigating the acute effects of heart rate on PWV, results were confounded by concomitant changes in blood pressure. Observations from epidemiological studies have also failed to converge, with approximately just half of such studies reporting a significant blood-pressure-independent association between heart rate and PWV. Further to the lack of consensus on the effects of heart rate on PWV, the possible mechanisms contributing to observed PWV changes with heart rate have yet to be fully elucidated, although many investigators have attributed heart-rate related changes in arterial stiffness to the viscoelasticity of the arterial wall. With elevated heart rate being an independent prognostic factor of cardiovascular disease and its association with hypertension, the interaction between heart rate and PWV continues to be relevant in assessing cardiovascular risk.

Keywords: Heart rate, arterial stiffness, pulse wave velocity, blood pressure, viscoelasticity, vascular.

Graphical Abstract

Rights & Permissions Print Export Cite as
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy