Vascular compliance as a measure of biological age

Objectives To determine the measure of vascular compliance most closely related to age. Design A review of 22 studies relating aortic compliance to age and a discussion of other factors related to vascular compliance. Measurements Aortic compliance, elastic modulus, postmortem aortic changes, pulse wave velocity in the aorta, common carotid, lower limb and upper limb. Results 1. Aortic compliance and carotid artery compliance is closely related to age; 2. Compliance in the peripheral arteries, in 16 reports, appears less closely related to age; 3. There is evidence that aortic compliance is related to hypertension, cardiac function, and left ventricular hypertrophy and can be increased by exercise, hormonal therapy, antioxidant and antihypertensive treatment; and 4. Vascular compliance is more closely related to chronological age than other measures such as skin inelasticity, greying of hair, baldness etc. Conclusions Because of the close relationship between aortic and carotid compliance and chronological age, deviation from the age-predicted norm (biological age) may prove to be a good predictor of cardiovascular pathology. J Am Geriatr Soc 47:657–663, 1999.