Relationship of Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity and Cerebral Artery Calcification in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke
Jin-Hyung Lee, MD, Meyung-Kug Kim, PhD and Bong-Goo Yoo, MD, PhD
Department of Neurology, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
ABSTRACT
Background: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV) is representative and simple methods for evaluating arterial stiffness. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the correlation between cerebral arterial calcification and BaPWV in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods:A total of 88 patients with acute cerebral infarction who had undergone computed tomography angiography and BaPWV measurement between March 2010 and July 2012 were enrolled. The BaPWV was divided to tertile. The degree of calcification in the extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and vertebral artery (VA), and intracranial ICA, VA, anterior cerebral (ACA), middle cerebral (MCA), posterior cerebral (PCA) and basilar artery (BA) was determined using the specific parameters. Results: Patients with higher BaPWV tended to have a higher arterial calcification score, older age, higher blood pressure, higher pulse pressure, higher heart rate, lower hemoglobin, higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate, lower glomerular filtration rate, and higher pro-brain natriuretic peptide level (P<0.05). Intracranial ICA and VA were related with arterial stiffness (P<0.01), but extracranial ICA and VA and MCA, ACA, PCA and BA were not. Multiple regression analysis revealed that BaPWV was related to total calcification score and systolic blood pressure (P<0.05). Conclusions: Increased BaPWV is associated with cerebral arterial calcification and systolic blood pressure in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Our study suggests that the severity of calcification in the intracranial ICA and VA is representative of the degree of systemic arterial stiffness.
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