Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Arterial stiffening is increasingly recognized as an independent predictor and mediator of CV mortality and as a marker of vascular ageing. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the most accepted non-invasive arterial stiffness parameter and in Europe, it is already a recommended method for cardiovascular risk assessment in hypertensive patients, but the class of recommendation is relatively low (IIb). There is upcoming evidence that other markers of large arteries function, such as central (i.e., aortic) blood pressure, can provide additional information to reclassify patients and to improve therapeutic targets. Related parameters which are derived from central blood pressure, like central pulse pressure or pulse pressure amplification, have also shown prognostic value in different patient populations.
With technological progress, new methodologies are becoming available for vascular ageing measurement, which on one hand can simplify the procedure but, on the other hand, may only coarsely approximate the “gold-standard”. Moreover, 24-hour arterial stiffness and central hemodynamic monitoring devices were also introduced, providing a new tool for clinical studies and generating further questions and research directions. For these technologies to reach everyday practice, clear methodologies and evidence-based unambiguous viewpoints are needed which require further studies, reviews, and consensus documents.
The purpose of this special issue is to publish high-quality original and review papers addressing new results and summaries of the present knowledge in this area. Original, high-quality contributions that are not yet published or that are not currently under review by other journals are sought.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- new technologies or models (including animal studies) for the measurement of arterial stiffness and central hemodynamic parameters
- validation studies of new devices
- follow-up data to obtain the predictive value of different arterial stiffness and hemodynamic parameters
- interventional tools to improve arterial stiffening and central hemodynamic parameters in different patient populations
- 24-hour monitoring of arterial stiffness and central hemodynamic parameters
Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Arterial stiffening is increasingly recognized as an independent predictor and mediator of CV mortality and as a marker of vascular ageing. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the most accepted non-invasive arterial stiffness parameter and in Europe, it is already a recommended method for cardiovascular risk assessment in hypertensive patients, but the class of recommendation is relatively low (IIb). There is upcoming evidence that other markers of large arteries function, such as central (i.e., aortic) blood pressure, can provide additional information to reclassify patients and to improve therapeutic targets. Related parameters which are derived from central blood pressure, like central pulse pressure or pulse pressure amplification, have also shown prognostic value in different patient populations.
With technological progress, new methodologies are becoming available for vascular ageing measurement, which on one hand can simplify the procedure but, on the other hand, may only coarsely approximate the “gold-standard”. Moreover, 24-hour arterial stiffness and central hemodynamic monitoring devices were also introduced, providing a new tool for clinical studies and generating further questions and research directions. For these technologies to reach everyday practice, clear methodologies and evidence-based unambiguous viewpoints are needed which require further studies, reviews, and consensus documents.
The purpose of this special issue is to publish high-quality original and review papers addressing new results and summaries of the present knowledge in this area. Original, high-quality contributions that are not yet published or that are not currently under review by other journals are sought.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- new technologies or models (including animal studies) for the measurement of arterial stiffness and central hemodynamic parameters
- validation studies of new devices
- follow-up data to obtain the predictive value of different arterial stiffness and hemodynamic parameters
- interventional tools to improve arterial stiffening and central hemodynamic parameters in different patient populations
- 24-hour monitoring of arterial stiffness and central hemodynamic parameters
