Takayasu's arteritis: a cause of prolonged arterial stiffness

Objectives. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with Takayasu's arteritis (TA). Increased arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor and predictor of cardiovascular mortality in a variety of diseases. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the augmentation index (AI) are used as clinical measurements of arterial stiffness. Methods. Data are presented from 10 patients with TA and 11 normal controls obtained between 2000 and 2004. Arterial compliance was assessed non-invasively by measurement of PWV, using the Complior® system, and calculation of the aortic AI. Results. TA patients (mean age 40.8±13.2?yr) were compared with a control group of healthy women from a parallel study (mean age 32.3±5.5?yr). The mean carotid–femoral PWV (PWV-CF) was higher in TA patients (P = 0.03). In addition, both aortic AI derived from the radial artery (P = 0.002) and carotid AI (P = 0.03) were higher in TA patients compared with controls. PWV-CF did not correlate with CRP (r = - 0.23, P = 0.23) or ESR (r = - 0.19, P = 0.27). Similar results were obtained for the correlation of carotid–radial PWV with CRP (r = 0.15, P = 0.32) and ESR (r = 0.33, P = 0.14). Conclusions. Our data show that TA is associated with elevated arterial stiffness in the central aorta, which may persist when the disease is quiescent. These data suggest that PWV represents a means by which cardiovascular risk can be detected and monitored in TA, and highlights the importance of effective management of cardiovascular risk factors in these patients.