Comparison of Clinical Laboratory Data and Prevalence according to Arterial Stiffness in Stroke Patients

Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is used to non-invasively estimate the severity of arteriosclerosis by measuring the patient's arterial stiffness comparing with each normal reference range according to their ages. Increased arterial stiffness is closely related to both atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis, which have been known for causes of cardiovascular disease and stroke, also negatively affects the prognosis and the re-occurrence in patients with stroke. The study is focused on how brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is related to cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients with acute stroke. There were 114 subjects, 69 males and 45 females, all in their 60's and had PWV test for acute stroke. The results are as follows: the group with increased arterial stiffness showed significant increase in HbAlc, total cholesterol, RSBP (resting systolic blood pressure), CSBP (central systolic blood pressure) and CDBP (central diastolic blood pressure). Cross tabulation test showed that there was a significant relationship only between the group with increased arterial stiffness and diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, it might be useful for preventing re-occurrence and making a favorable prognosis to promptly adjust DM and hypertension-related risk factors in patients with acute stroke.