title: Ambulatory arterial stiffness index predicts stroke in a general population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) can be computed from individual 24-h blood pressure recordings.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the prognostic value of AASI and 24-h pulse pressure in a random sample of 1829 Danes, aged 40-70 years. We adjusted for sex, age, body mass index, mean arterial pressure, smoking, diabetes, ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and history of cardiovascular disease with Cox regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over a median follow-up of 9.4 years, incidences of fatal and nonfatal endpoints were 40 for stroke, 150 for coronary heart disease, and 212 for cardiovascular events. In fully adjusted models, the hazard ratios associated with 1 SD increase (0.14 U) in the AASI were 1.62 (95% confidence interval, 1.14-2.28; P = 0.007) for stroke, 0.96 (0.80-1.14; P = 0.62) for coronary heart disease, and 1.06 (0.91-1.23; P = 0.49) for cardiovascular events. None of these ratios reached significance for pulse pressure (P > 0.47). The AASI still predicted stroke after excluding individuals with previous cardiovascular disease or after adjustment for systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure instead of mean arterial pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a randomly recruited European population, the AASI was a strong predictor of stroke, beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including the mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Prevention and Health, Copenhagen, Denmark. tw@heart.dk
authors.forename: Tine W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Jan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Staessen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Torp-Pedersen
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Eamon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: Lutgarde
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thijs
authors.forename: Ji-Guang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Eoin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ibsen
authors.forename: Jørgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jeppesen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000379:methods*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*