A multi-center study led by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center cardiologist David M. Herrington, M.D., M.H.S., suggests that measuring the stiffness of arteries to screen for early atherosclerosis may be another way to identify people at risk for heart disease or stroke.
Herrington’s study was published on-line this week in Circulation, a medical journal of the American Heart Association.
“The study suggests another way to identify people who are at risk for coronary heart disease,” said Herrington. “Fifty percent of men and 64 percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms of the disease.”
The blood vessels of individuals who are in the early stages of atherosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries,” begin to stiffen due to the buildup of plaque on the interior walls of the vessels. Using a non-invasive test to detect this disease would allow treatment to begin much earlier in an effort to reduce the odds of further cardiovascular disease.
The study, which involved 267 participants, showed that measurements taken with a blood-pressure-like test, and confirmed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were “strongly predictive of extent of aortic atherosclerosis.” The device measured blood volume in the leg as a way to gauge artery stiffness.
In addition to Wake Forest Baptist, the study was conducted at the Atlanta V. A. Medical Center, Columbia University Medical Center, and Jackson Memorial Hospital at the University of Miami Medical Center.