Hypertension Research (2014) 37, 64–68
& 2014 The Japanese Society of Hypertension All rights reserved 0916-9636/14
www.nature.com/hr
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Positive effects of antihypertensive treatment
on aortic stiffness in the general population
Jitka Seidlerová1,2, Jan Filipovský1,2, Otto Mayer1,2, Peter Wohlfahrt3,4 and Renata Cı́fková3,4
Aortic stiffness is strongly related to age and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In the present analysis, we investigated whether
antihypertensive treatment modulates the association of the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) with age and with MAP in the
general population. In the Czech post-MONICA cross-sectional study, we measured the PWV in 735 subjects (mean age
61.2±7.8 years, 54.1% women, 44.3% on antihypertensive medication). We used a linear regression model to assess the
effect of treatment on the PWV. The independent covariates in our analysis included sex, age, MAP, heart rate, body mass
index, plasma glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking and observer. The patients receiving treatment were older
(64.1±6.7 vs. 58.9±7.8 years), had higher systolic blood pressure (135.9±16.2 vs. 130.1±16.5 mm Hg) and had higher
pulse wave velocity (9.1±2.2 vs. 8.2±2.1 m s 1; P for all o0.0001) than untreated subjects. After adjustment for MAP, the
use of treatment modified the association between age and the PWV (regression equations, treated patients 9.68–0.009 age
vs. untreated subjects 6.98 þ 0.020 age, difference of regression slopes, F ¼ 11.2; P ¼ 0.0009). In analyses adjusted for age,
treatment was associated with a smaller increase of the PWV with MAP (treated patients 9.63–0.006 MAP vs. untreated
subjects 7.18 þ 0.010 MAP, F ¼ 10.70; P ¼ 0.0001). These results were driven primarily by subjects whose blood pressure
was below 140/90 mm Hg. In the cross-sectional analysis from a random sample of the general population, antihypertensive
treatment was associated with a less steep increase in the PWV with age and the mean arterial pressure. Further longitudinal
studies are needed to confirm this finding.
Hypertension Research (2014) 37, 64–68; doi:10.1038/hr.2013.113; published online 19 September 2013
Keywords: antihypertensive treatment; arterial stiffness; epidemiology; pulse wave velocity
INTRODUCTION
The aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a surrogate measurement of
aortic stiffness. Clinical interpretation of the aortic PWV is straightforward in that higher values are directly attributable to excessive
aortic wall stiffness and are associated with an increasing risk for
cardiovascular morbidity and mortality both in the general population1,2 and in patients with several pathological conditions.3,4 The
2007 European Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension5
listed aortic stiffness, measured through the carotid-femoral PWV,
among the parameters that should be evaluated to assess target organ
damage. Many studies have reported the beneficial effects of different
antihypertensive drugs on arterial compliance.6–8 Whether the
reduction in arterial stiffness after antihypertensive treatment is
caused only by a reduction in blood pressure (BP) or also by
additional effects independent of the BP is subject to debate.9 Few
studies have reported data in favor of a BP-independent decrease in
aortic stiffness.10–13 The aim of the present study was to investigate
whether antihypertensive treatment modifies the association of aortic
stiffness with age and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in a random
sample of the general population.
1Department
METHODS
Study population
The Czech post-MONICA (MONItoring trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease) study is a population survey studying trends and determinants
of cardiovascular risk factors in a 1% random sample of the Czech population
in nine districts of the country. The methods of the Czech post-MONICA study
are described elsewhere.14 The present analysis included individuals examined
in the city of Pilsen. The overall response rate in this district was 68.0%.
Because the proportion of subjects using antihypertensive medication in the
25–45 year-old age group was small (5.1%), only subjects older than 45 years
were included in the present analysis. The PWV measurement was available
from 754 of the 930 participants. We excluded 19 subjects because biochemical
variables were missing or the quality of the PWV measurement was insufficient.
The total number of analyzed subjects was 735.
The research protocol included the administration of a standardized
questionnaire to obtain information on each subject’s medical history, smoking
and drinking habits, and medication use. Blood pressure was measured in
triplicate in the right arm with the subject in the sitting position after at least
5 min at rest. Standard mercury sphygmomanometers and correctly sized cuffs
were used. The participant’s right arm was supported at the heart level and
the maximum inflation level was determined before the actual measurement.
of Internal Medicine II, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; 2Biomedical Centre, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles
University, Prague, Czech Republic; 3Centre for Cardiovascular Prevention, First Faculty of Medicine and Thomayer Hospital, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech
Republic and 4Department of Preventive Cardiology, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic
Correspondence: Dr J Seidlerová, Department of Internal Medicine II, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Edvarda Beneše 13, 305 99 Plzen, Czech Republic.
E-mail: seidlerovaji@fnplzen.cz
Received 14 February 2013; revised 15 May 2013; accepted 7 June 2013; published online 19 September 2013
Aortic stiffness and antihypertensive drugs
J Seidlerová et al
65
The blood pressure values were recorded to the nearest 2 mm Hg. The mean
value of the last two readings was used for further analysis. The MAP derived
from the office blood pressure measurement was calculated as the diastolic
pressure plus one-third of the pulse pressure. Blood samples were obtained for
biochemical analyses. Diabetes was defined as fasting plasma glucose
X7.0 mmol l 1 or the use of oral antidiabetic drugs and/or insulin. Height
and body weight were determined for all of the participants, and body mass
index was calculated as body weight/height2 (kg m 2).
Four observers obtained a PWV measurement using a SphygmoCor
device (AtCor Medical, West Ryde, NSW, Australia). The PWV was computed
from recordings of the arterial pressure wave at the carotid and femoral
arteries.15 The distances between the site of the carotid recordings and the
suprasternal notch, and between the suprasternal notch and the site of
the femoral recordings were measured. The two values were subtracted to
obtain the travel distance. The aortic PWV was calculated as the ratio of
the travel distance in meters to the transit time in seconds. PWV was shown
to have good reproducibility.15 Wilkinson et al.15 found that within-observer
and between-observer variability amounted to 0.07±1.17 m s 1 and 0.30±
1.25 m s 1, respectively.
Statistical methods
For the database management and statistical analyses, we used SAS software,
version 9.2 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). The data are presented as the
mean±s.d. or proportions. Student’s t-test and the Fisher test were used to
compare the differences between the untreated and treated subjects.
The effect of antihypertensive treatment on the PWV was evaluated using
multivariate linear regressions. The differences between the slopes and
intercepts of regression lines were tested using the F-test. The selection of
covariates was based on known associations from the literature and from the
significant univariate relationship. The basic model was adjusted for the
observer and age or MAP. In the fully adjusted model, we added the following
independent variables to the regression model: gender, body mass index, heart
rate, plasma glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and smoking.
RESULTS
Characteristics of participants
The general characteristics of the subjects are listed in Table 1. The
proportions of women and men did not differ in the untreated and
treated group. The subjects using antihypertensive drugs were older
64.1±6.7 vs. 58.9±7.8 years, had higher systolic blood pressure
135.9±16.2 vs. 130.1±16.5 mm Hg and were more obese than the
untreated subjects (body mass index 29.7±4.6 vs. 27.2±4.6 kg m 2,
P for all o0.0001). As expected, the aortic PWV was also higher in
the treated patients compared with the untreated subjects (9.1±2.2
vs. 8.2±2.1 m s 1; Po0.0001). The proportions of diabetic patients
(21.8% vs. 7.1%;) and the use of lipid-lowering medication (42.3% vs.
11.0%; P for both o0.0001) were higher in the treated group than in
the untreated subjects. The prevalence of smokers was lower in the
treated group than in the untreated subjects (18.7% vs. 30.8%;
P ¼ 0.0002).
In the treated group, 40% of the patients were on monotherapy,
36% were taking a double-combination, 10% were taking a triplecombination and 14% were taking four or more antihypertensive
drugs. Table 2 gives the numbers and proportions of the different
classes of antihypertensive drugs. The most commonly used medications were drugs interfering with the renin–angiotensin system.
Among the 326 treated patients, 184 (56.4%) had well-controlled BP.
In the untreated group, 283 (69.2%) participants were normotensive.
Effect of antihypertensive treatment
Figure 1 shows the relationships between age and PWV. In this model,
as well as in fully adjusted regression models, the treated subjects had
higher intercepts of the regression lines than the untreated subjects.
Table 1 General characteristics
No treatment
With treatment
(n ¼ 409)
(n ¼ 326)
P
223 (54.5)
58.9±7.8
130.1±16.5
175 (53.7)
64.1±6.7
135.9±16.2
o0.0001
o0.0001
81.7±9.1
97.8±10.6
69.8±9.1
81.5±9.1
99.6±9.9
69.0±10.5
8.2±2.1
27.2±4.6
9.1±2.2
29.7±4.6
Plasma glucose, mmol l 1
Serum creatinine, mmol l 1
3.3±0.9
5.3±0.9
3.0±0.9
5.8±1.5
79.4±11.4
84.4±17.5
o0.0001
o0.0001
Current smoking, n (%)
Lipid-lowering treatment, n (%)
126 (30.8)
45 (11.0)
61 (18.7)
138 (42.3)
0.0002
o0.0001
29 (7.1)
71 (21.8)
o0.0001
Women, n (%)
Age, years
Systolic blood pressure, mm Hg
Diastolic blood pressure, mm Hg
Mean arterial pressure, mm Hg
Heart rate, b.p.m.
Aortic pulse wave velocity, m s 1
BMI, kg m 2
Serum LDL, mmol l 1
Diabetes mellitus, n (%)
0.82
0.68
0.019
0.32
o0.0001
o0.0001
o0.0001
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; LDL, low-density lipoprotein.
Data are means±s.d. or number (percentage), respectively.
Table 2 Use of antihypertensive medications according drug classes
Class
n (%)
ACEIs/ARBs
Beta-blockers
233 (71.5)
139 (42.6)
Diuretics
Calcium-channel blockers
101 (31.0)
123 (37.7)
Alpha-blockers
Centrally acting drugs
11 (3.4)
21 (6.4)
Abbreviations: ACEI, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors; ARB, angiotensin II receptor
blockers.
In a model adjusted for the MAP, the PWV increase with age was
smaller in the treated patients compared with the untreated subjects
(P for difference of regression slopes ¼ 0.0009; Figure 1a). This
finding was consistent with the fully adjusted model (P ¼ 0.019,
Figure 1b). Similarly, the PWV increase with the MAP was significantly lesser in the treated patients than in the untreated subjects in
the basically (P ¼ 0.0001; Figure 2a) and fully adjusted (Pp0.0011;
Figure 2b) analysis. Moreover, adjustment for age resulted in a slightly
inverse relation between the PWV and MAP (Figures 2a and b).
These associations between the PWV and age remained consistent
in 467 subjects who had BP below 140/90 mm Hg (Figure 3a). On the
other hand, in 268 subjects with BP above 140/90 mm Hg, no
difference was found in the slopes of the regression lines between
the treated and untreated subjects (Figure 3b).
The above-mentioned findings remained consistent after exclusion
of the outlying values from the analysis (data not shown).
DISCUSSION
The key finding of our study is that the use of antihypertensive
medication was associated with a less steep increase in aortic stiffness with age in the general population. This protective effect
of BP-lowering drugs on aortic stiffness was driven by wellcontrolled subjects, for example, subjects whose BP was lower than
140/90 mm Hg. Another important finding was that the untreated
subjects showed a steeper rise in the PWV with MAP compared with
the treated patients.
Hypertension Research
Aortic stiffness and antihypertensive drugs
J Seidlerová et al
66
Figure 1 Effect of antihypertensive treatment on aortic PWV in relation to
age. Effects of antihypertensive treatment on PWV in relation to age. Panel
a shows results of analysis after basic adjustments (for observer and MAP);
panel b analysis adjusted for sex, MAP, heart rate, body mass index, plasma
glucose, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking and observer. Gray
squares indicate untreated subjects, black triangles indicate treated
patients. The number of subjects, regression equations and 95% confidence
limits for mean predicted values are given for each group. The differences
of regression line slopes are given.
The aim of the present analysis was to investigate whether the use of
antihypertensive treatment modulates the association between aortic
stiffness and age or MAP. To the best of our knowledge, no previous
observational study has addressed this research question. Several
reports have shown that antihypertensive treatment is
associated with a reduction in aortic stiffness.6,7,16,17 Ait-Oufella
Hypertension Research
Figure 2 Effect of antihypertensive treatment on aortic PWV in relation to
MAP. Effect of antihypertensive treatment on PWV in relation to MAP.
Analyses are adjusted for age instead of MAP, as in Figure 1, otherwise the
explanations are the same as in Figure 1.
et al.16 showed that in routine clinical practice, treatment with
antihypertensive drugs was associated with a large and sustained
decrease in the carotid-femoral PWV over a follow-up of 5.3 years. In
the multivariate analysis, the decrease in the PWV was only partly
explained by the reduction in the mean BP. The authors concluded
that the reduction in the PWV likely represented a delayed response to
the long-term normalization of the BP, through arterial remodeling.16
Similarly, after a 12-month treatment period, the PWV was significantly smaller in the intensively treated hypertensive patients with
a target BP of o130/85 mm Hg than in their moderately treated
Aortic stiffness and antihypertensive drugs
J Seidlerová et al
67
Figure 3 Effect of antihypertensive treatment on PWV in relation to age in subjects with blood pressure o140/90 mm Hg and in those with blood pressure
X140/90 mm Hg. Effects of antihypertensive treatment on PWV in relation to age in subjects whose blood pressure was below 140/90 mm Hg (panel a) and
in those with blood pressure X140/90 mm Hg (panel b). The figures show results of analyses after basic adjustments for observer and MAP, respectively.
The differences of intercepts (if appropriate) and regression line slopes are given. For further explanation, see Figure 1.
counterparts with a target BP of o140/90 mm Hg.12 These findings
are in agreement with our study results. Indeed, the smaller increase in
the PWV with age was driven by patients with well-controlled BP. It is
possible that in some patients, irreversible structural damage may have
occurred at the large artery level because of advanced stage and longterm hypertension. In our study, the median duration of hypertension
(data obtained from a questionnaire) was 9.0 years (range, 1–49 years).
Several studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect of different
classes of antihypertensive drugs on a reduction in the PWV.6,7,17,18
Karalliede et al.7 compared the effect of the angiotensin receptor
blocker valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide and amlodipine (a calciumchannel blocker) on the aortic PWV in 131 hypertensive type 2
diabetic patients. After a 24-week treatment period, the PWV
decreased significantly in both treatment groups. Valsartan improved
arterial stiffness by 0.9 m s 1 more than amlodipine, despite a similar
decrease in the central and peripheral pulse pressure.7 After a
12-month follow-up in patients with essential hypertension, a
combination of low-dose perindopril with indapamide reduced the
aortic PWV significantly and to a similar extent as did treatment with
atenolol.6 The decrease in the carotid and aortic BP was significantly
more pronounced with the perindopril/indapamide combination than
with atenolol, primarily because of the attenuation of wave reflection.6
The combination of amlodipine/valsartan compared with amlodipine/atenolol led to a similar decrease in the carotid-femoral PWV,
despite a greater reduction in the central systolic BP in the former
treatment group.18 In elderly subjects with essential hypertension,
Kithas and Supiano17 showed a comparable beneficial effect of
spironolactone and hydrochlorothiazide on arterial stiffness. The
above-mentioned reports demonstrated the beneficial effect on the
aortic pulse velocity by different classes of antihypertensive drugs
alone or in combination, although the effect on the wave reflection
parameters varied. In our study, 60% of the treated patients were on
combination therapy, and the most commonly used drugs interfered
with the renin–angiotensin system.
A lower PWV,1 but not augmentation index, central pulse pressure
or pulse pressure amplification2 was associated with a lower overall
cardiovascular risk even after adjustment for BP and other classical
risk factors. In the untreated normotensive participants in the ACCT
trial, the age-related change in the PWV was estimated to increase by
1.36 m s 1 per decade.19 A smaller age-associated increase of the
PWV in our treated group compared with the untreated subjects is
likely to be clinically relevant.
The present study must be interpreted within the context of its
limitations and strengths. First, our study had a cross-sectional
design. We can only speculate on whether the effects of antihypertensive drugs on the PWV were BP-dependent. Second, we did not
have data regarding previously used antihypertensive treatments or
the overall duration of these treatments. Thus, we are unable to
distinguish the possible effect of these factors on our results. Similarly,
because of the use of combination therapy in 60% of the subjects, we
were unable to evaluate the effect of different drug classes on aortic
stiffness. Third, the measurement of the hypertension control was
based on the episodic blood pressure measured at rest and was not
confirmed by a 24 -h ambulatory BP measurement.
In conclusion, we observed that the use of antihypertensive
treatment lessened the PWV increase with age and with MAP in
the general population, and this effect was driven predominantly by
well-controlled patients. These findings might suggest that the
reduction of aortic stiffening induced by antihypertensive treatment
extends beyond its effect on clinical BP. The importance of our
study is underscored by the epidemiological evidence that aortic
PWV per se is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity
and mortality.1,2,20 Further longitudinal studies should confirm the
present observation.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study would not have been possible without the voluntary collaboration
of the participants. We acknowledge the expert technical assistance of
Ms Alena Mařı́ková. This study was supported by the Charles University
Research Fund (project number P36), by project ED2.1.00/03.0076 from the
European Regional Development Fund and by unrestricted research grants
from the Krka Czech Republic s.r.o. and Servier Czech Republic s.r.o. The
manuscript has not been published and is not being considered for publication
elsewhere, in whole or in part, in any language, except as an Abstract.
Hypertension Research
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J Seidlerová et al
68
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