Cold Pressor Test Influences the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Healthy Overweight Young Adults.

Objective: The cold pressor test (CPT) has been shown a potential sympathoexcitatory stimulus which increases aortic pulse wave velocity and the aortic augmentation index, suggesting that noninvasively, arterial stiffness parameters are altered by the CPT. The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is widely used for reflecting arterial stiffness, and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) for evaluating peripheral artery disease in obesity. We aimed to assess CAVI and ABI in overweight young adults in the context of sympathetic activation by using the CPT.