Arterial stiffening precedes systolic hypertension in diet-induced obesity.
Stiffening of conduit arteries is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. Aortic wall stiffening increases pulsatile hemodynamic forces that are detrimental to the microcirculation in highly perfused organs, such as the heart, brain, and kidney. Arterial stiffness is associated with hypertension but presumed to be due to an adaptive response to increased hemodynamic load. In contrast, a recent clinical study found that stiffness precedes and may contribute to the development of hypertension although the mechanisms underlying hypertension are unknown. Here, we report that in a diet-induced model of obesity, arterial stiffness, measured in vivo, develops within 1 month of the initiation of the diet and precedes the development of hypertension by 5 months. Diet-induced obese mice recapitulate the metabolic syndrome and are characterized by inflammation in visceral fat and aorta. Normalization of the metabolic state by weight loss resulted in return of arterial stiffness and blood pressure to normal. Our findings support the hypothesis that arterial stiffness is a cause rather than a consequence of hypertension.
Vascular Biology Section, Boston University School of Medicine, 650 Albany St, Boston, MA 02118. setaf@bu.edu.
Robert M
RM
Weisbrod
Tina
T
Shiang
Leona
L
Al Sayah
Jessica L
JL
Fry
Saumendra
S
Bajpai
Cynthia A
CA
Reinhart-King
Heinrich E
HE
Lob
Lakshmi
L
Santhanam
Gary
G
Mitchell
Richard A
RA
Cohen
Francesca
F
Seta
D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004032:Diet; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051379:Mice; D008820:Mice, Obese; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*
hypertension; inflammation; obesity; pulse wave velocity; vascular stiffness