The prognostic value of arterial stiffness in Korean hypertensive patients has not been specified. This study was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in Korean hypertensive patients and to propose a cutoff value of baPWV predicting future cardiovascular events. A total of 2561 hypertensive patients without documented cardiovascular disease (mean age, 63 years; 47% females) who underwent baPWV measurement were retrospectively analyzed. Composite events of cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, and ischemic stroke were assessed during the clinical follow-up period. During a median follow-up period of 4.14 years (interquartile range, 2.18-5.48 years), there were 69 cases of composite events (2.7%). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the best cutoff value of baPWV predicting composite events was 1630 cm/s (sensitivity, 79.7%; specificity, 49.1%; area under curve, 0.674; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.613-0.735; P < .001). In multivariable Cox regression analysis, higher baPWV (≥1630 cm/s) was independently associated with higher risk of the occurrence of composite events even after controlling for potential confounders (hazard ratio, 2.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.49-5.36; P = .001). In conclusion, increased baPWV in Korean hypertensive patients was associated with an increased risk of future cardiovascular events. In addition, we suggested 1630 cm as a cutoff value of baPWV for predicting cardiovascular events, which will be helpful in guiding the treatment strategy of Korean hypertensive patients.
Keywords: arterial stiffness; brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity; cutoff value; hypertension; prognosis.
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