Arterial stiffness indexes in acute ischemic stroke: relationship with stroke subtype.
BACKGROUND
No study has evaluated both arterial stiffness indexes (PWV and Aix) in patients with an acute cerebrovascular event. The aim of our study was to evaluate arterial stiffness indexes in subjects with acute ischemic stroke and to evaluate the relationship between these indexes and other clinical and laboratory variables.


METHODS
We enrolled all consecutive patients with a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Internal Medicine Department at the University of Palermo between November 2006 and January 2009, and hospitalized control patients without a diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. The type of acute ischemic stroke was classified according to the TOAST classification. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) was evaluated by Applanation tonometry (SphygmoCor) and the aortic pressure waveform was used to calculate the Augmentation index (Aix).


RESULTS
We enrolled 107 patients with acute ischemic stroke and 102 control subjects matched for age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors and previous cardiovascular morbidity. Stroke patients, compared to subjects without acute ischemic stroke, showed a higher mean Aix (103+/-3.5 mmHg vs. 99+/-4.6 mmHg) and PWV (11.8+/-3.3 m/s vs. 10.02+/-2.29 m/s). Augmentation Index and PWV values in lacunar subjects were significantly higher compared to values observed in LAAS, CEI and subtypes.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study shows that patients with acute ischemic stroke show higher arterial stiffness index values. Among stroke patients, lacunar subtype has the highest arterial stiffness indexes. This finding underlines previous data regarding the strict association between hypertension and diabetes and arterial stiffness, owing the higher percentage of hypertensive and diabetic subjects in the lacunar group.
Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, P.zza delle Cliniche n.2, 90127 Palermo, Italy. brunotutto@unipa.it
Antonino
A
Tuttolomondo
Riccardo
R
Di Sciacca
Domenico
D
Di Raimondo
Antonia
A
Serio
Gisella
G
D'Aguanno
Antonio
A
Pinto
Giuseppe
G
Licata
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001158:Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012306:Risk; D020521:Stroke / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014655:Vascular Resistance