Arterial Stiffness, Central Blood Pressure, and the Risk of Incident Stroke in Hypertensive Adults

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Whether hypertensive patients with elevated arterial stiffness and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) are exposed to higher stroke risk is unclear.

METHODS: A total of 6663 participants without a history of cardiovascular disease were enrolled in this study. cSBP was measured noninvasively using the A-Pulse CASPro device; carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) was collected using a Pulse Pen device. The primary outcome was incident stroke.

RESULTS: Over 4.4 years (median), 454 incident strokes occurred (15.92 per 1000 person-years). Compared to the reference group (cSBP < 137 mmHg and cfPWV < 10 m/s), patients with elevated cSBP and cfPWV had a significantly increased risk of incident stroke (HR 1.78 [95% CI 1.39, 2.27]), and were the only group showing statistical significance versus those with solely increased cSBP (HR 1.13 [95% CI 0.87, 1.48]) or cfPWV (HR 1.15 [95% CI 0.87, 1.52]) after adjusting for covariates; p for trend < 0.001. Consistent findings were identified in multiple sensitivity and exploratory analyses. The additive interaction between elevated cSBP and cfPWV was significant, with a relative excess risk due to interaction of 0.55 [95% CI 0.05-1.03]. The association between elevated cSBP and cfPWV with incident stroke risk was more robust among patients who were taking non-guideline recommended antihypertensive medication at baseline (HR 3.03) than among those who took recommended regimens (HR 1.58).

CONCLUSIONS: Hypertensive patients with elevated cSBP and cfPWV have a significantly higher risk of incident stroke than those with lower or solely increased cSBP and cfPWV. Greater clinical attention and tailored treatment strategies are needed.