Aortic pulse wave velocity and the degree of atherosclerosis in the elderly: a pathological study based on 304 autopsy cases.

Introduction: Studies examining the correlation between aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and atherosclerosis have reported conflicting results. The present paper verifies this correlation by conducting autopsy examination of elderly subjects.

Methods: A total of 3456 PWV examinations had been performed on 1538 elderly people, as a part of routine physical check-up. During long-term follow-up, many of these subjects died, and autopsy study could be conducted on 304 of these subjects. The average age at death of the subjects was 83 years and the male: female ratio was 6:5. The pathological atherosclerotic index (PAI) was defined as the average pathological degree of atherosclerosis in eight large arteries, including aorta.

Results: Significant positive correlations were observed between the age and PWV (gamma=0.273, P<0.001), and between the systolic blood pressure and PWV (gamma=0.478, P<0.001). There was a significantly positive correlation between the aortic atherosclerotic degree and mean PWV (rho=0.239, P<0.005), and between the PAI and mean PWV (gamma=0.323, P<0.001). The partial regression coefficient between the PAI and mean PWV was 0.209, after adjusting for the mean systolic blood pressure and age at death.

Conclusion: The present study proved a weak correlation between the PWV and the pathologically verified degree of the aortic and systemic atherosclerosis.