Acute systemic inflammation increases arterial stiffness and decreases wave reflections in healthy individuals.
BACKGROUND
Aortic stiffness is a marker of cardiovascular disease and an independent predictor of cardiovascular risk. Although an association between inflammatory markers and increased arterial stiffness has been suggested, the causative relationship between inflammation and arterial stiffness has not been investigated.


RESULTS
One hundred healthy individuals were studied according to a randomized, double-blind, sham procedure-controlled design. Each substudy consisted of 2 treatment arms, 1 with Salmonella typhi vaccination and 1 with sham vaccination. Vaccination produced a significant (P<0.01) increase in pulse wave velocity (at 8 hours by 0.43 m/s), denoting an increase in aortic stiffness. Wave reflections were reduced significantly (P<0.01) by vaccination (decrease in augmentation index of 5.0% at 8 hours and 2.5% at 32 hours) as a result of peripheral vasodilatation. These effects were associated with significant increases in inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (P<0.001), high-sensitivity interleukin-6 (P<0.001), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (P<0.01). With aspirin pretreatment (1200 mg PO), neither pulse wave velocity nor augmentation index changed significantly after vaccination (increase of 0.11 m/s and 0.4%, respectively; P=NS for both).


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to show through a cause-and-effect relationship that acute systemic inflammation leads to deterioration of large-artery stiffness and to a decrease in wave reflections. These findings have important implications, given the importance of aortic stiffness for cardiovascular function and risk and the potential of therapeutic interventions with antiinflammatory properties.
Vlachopoulos
Charalambos
C
First Department of Cardiology, Athens Medical School, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece. cvlachop@otenet.gr
Dima
Ioanna
I
Aznaouridis
Konstantinos
K
Vasiliadou
Carmen
C
Ioakeimidis
Nikolaos
N
Aggeli
Constadina
C
Toutouza
Marina
M
Stefanadis
Christodoulos
C
D000328:Adult; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002302:Cardiac Output; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D022562:Salmonella Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013318:Stroke Volume; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014655:Vascular Resistance; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left
D022562:Salmonella Vaccines