Arterial Stiffness, Wave Reflections, and the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND: Increased arterial stiffness, determined invasively, has been shown to predict a higher risk of coronary atherosclerosis. However, invasive techniques are of limited value for screening and risk stratification in larger patient groups. METHODS AND RESULTS: We prospectively enrolled 465 consecutive, symptomatic men undergoing coronary angiography for the assessment of suspected coronary artery disease. Arterial stiffness and wave reflections were quantified noninvasively using applanation tonometry of the radial artery with a validated transfer function to generate the corresponding ascending aortic pressure waveform. Augmented pressure (AP) was defined as the difference between the second and the…