Estimated pulse wave velocity and its role in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevalence and mortality outcomes among U.S. adults
A simple blood-pressure-based measure of vascular aging strongly predicts heart disease and premature death, offering a scalable tool to refine cardiovascular risk assessment.
This large NHANES-based analysis of 34,200 U.S. adults found that estimated pulse wave velocity — a non-invasive marker of vascular aging derivable from age, sex, and blood pressure — is strongly associated with prevalent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and nearly doubles all-cause mortality and 2.35-fold increases cardiovascular mortality risk per SD increase. These findings support ePWV as a scalable vascular aging marker that could supplement traditional risk models.
What the study was
- Study design
- Cross-sectional + survival analysis (NHANES 2001-2018, n=34,200)
- Population
- U.S. adults aged ≥20 years; nationally representative NHANES sample
- Sample size
- 34200
- Category
- Diagnostics
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- Heart & Lung
Why it surfaced
Large nationally representative sample (n=34,200) with long follow-up; ePWV is easily calculable from routine clinical data; results add to vascular aging literature but concept is established.
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