Clinical & Experimental Cardiology
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9880
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2155-9880
+44 1300 500008
Tsukasa Namekata, Kenji Suzuki, Norio Ishizuka, Mitsuko Nakata and Kohji Shirai
Purpose: Recently the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) has been developed to represent the extent of arteriosclerosis in the artery from the aortic valve to the ankle. The aim of the study is to examine the association of CAVI scores with the established cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and coronary heart disease (CHD).
Methods: Subjects were 9,881 men and 12,033 women of company employees and their families between 20 and 70 years of age and over who participated in CVD screening in Japan. The screening included measurements of CAVI, electrocardiogram, blood pressure, lipids, serum glucose, hemoglobin A1c, height, weight, and questions on smoking and drinking status. Persons having CHD were defined as those having history of CHD and/or having abnormal Q wave and/or ischemic change in ECG. After converting CAVI scores to binary variables (normal or abnormally high CAVI scores), logistic regression analysis was conducted.
Results: After adjusting for age, significant odds ratios (ORs) of abnormally high CAVI scores among men were found with diabetes mellitus (10.02, p<0.001), hypertension (8.37, p<0.001), triglycerides (2.76, p<0.001, for 150-199mg/dL and 2.85, p<0.001, for ≥200mg/dL, as reference:<150mg/dL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.19, p<0.001, for 40-59mg/dL and 0.20, p<0.001 for ≥60mg/dL, as reference: <40mg/dL), body mass index (2.04, p<0.001, for <20, 2.31, p<0.001, for 28-29.9 and 3.37, p<0.001, for ≥30 as reference:20-22.9), and ex-smokers (1.20, p<0.01, as reference: non-smokers). Almost identical results were found among women, except a significant OR with current smokers (2.25, p<0.001). The significant association between CHD and abnormally high CAVI scores was found: OR=3.87, p<0.001 for men and 1.45, p<0.01 for women after adjusting for CVD risk factors.
Conclusions: Our results confirmed that CAVI scores are a reliable indicator of arteriosclerosis reflecting the extent of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis in the major artery between the aortic valve and the ankle.