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The following is a summary of “Arterial Stiffness: A Strong Determinant of Abnormal Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in an Untreated Hypertensive Population,” published in the April 2025 issue of Vascular Health and Risk Management by Vasileiadis et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the relationship between arterial stiffness, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in individuals with untreated hypertension.  

They included 22 untreated individuals with hypertension who were referred to the Hypertension ABPM Center of Excellence at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. All participants underwent carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (c-f PWV) assessment and 24-hour ABPM. Cardiac MRI was used to evaluate myocardial structure and function. Statistical analyses involved Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests, and logistic regression was applied to explore associations between c-f PWV and cardiac abnormalities. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  

The results showed that participants had elevated office and 24-hour ABPM values. Cardiac MRI identified left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in 31.8% and diastolic dysfunction in 63.6%. Myocardial fibrosis was found in 50% of the individuals. Increased PWV was significantly linked with LV systolic dysfunction (P= 0.003), LV diastolic dysfunction (P= 0.002), myocardial stiffness (P< 0.001), and myocardial fibrosis (P= 0.004). Aortic valve velocity showed a significant association with higher arterial stiffness (P= 0.006). Post-hoc analysis indicated significant differences in fibrosis severity (P= 0.007 for minimal vs no fibrosis; P= 0.011 for severe vs no fibrosis).  

Investigators concluded that increased arterial stiffness and elevated systolic blood pressure were significantly associated with cardiac MRI abnormalities in individuals who were untreated for hypertension. 

Source: dovepress.com/arterial-stiffness-a-strong-determinant-of-abnormal-cardiac-magnetic-r-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-VHRM