title: Prognostic Implications of Non-Invasive Vascular Function Tests in High-Risk Atherosclerosis Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to assess the role of clinically available vascular function tests as predictors of cardiovascular events and decline in kidney function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and fourteen patients who had at least 2 cardiovascular risk factors were recruited for vascular function assessment including ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and flow-mediated vasodilatation (%FMD). During a median period of 51 months, 35 patients reached the primary endpoint (29 cardiovascular events and 6 cardiac deaths), and 30 patients reached the secondary endpoint (decline in kidney function: defined as a 5% per year decline of estimated glomerular filtration rate). In sequential Cox models, a model on the basis of the Framingham risk score, hemoglobin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (chi-squared, 16.6) was improved by the ABI (chi-squared: 21.5; P=0.047). The baPWV (hazard ratio: 1.42 per 1 SD increase; P=0.025) and the CAVI (hazard ratio: 1.52 per 1 SD increase; P=0.040) were associated with the secondary endpoint. The %FMD was only slightly associated with the primary and secondary endpoints.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both ABI and baPWV are significantly associated with future cardiovascular events in high-risk patients with cardiovascular disease. The predictive capabilities of these parameters are greater than that of other parameters in this cohort.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokushima University Hospital.
authors.forename: Kenya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kusunose
authors.forename: Mitsuyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yoshihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saijo
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bando
authors.forename: Yukina
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sata
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors