Correlation of vascular risk age with pulse wave velocity in young patients with low absolute cardiovascular risk

OBJECTIVE
The systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) estimates the 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD), and its application is recommended. The absolute risk of CVD, independent of risk factors, is relatively low in young individuals. Expressing the risk as their “risk age” may aid in understanding the risk. This study aimed to demonstrate a possible correlation between vascular risk age, SCORE risk value, and the level of subclinical atherosclerosis evaluated using a pulse wave velocity (PWV) device.

METHODS
This work was designed to be a cross-sectional study. The SCORE 10-year fatal CVD risk and vascular risk age were calculated for patients below the age of 50 years and without any previous diagnosis of atherosclerotic disease or equivalents. The PWV of each patient was measured non-invasively using a PWV device.

RESULTS
The study population included a total of 300 patients with a mean age of 35.1±9.5 years. The mean PWV and mean vascular age of the entire study population were 6.3±1.3 m/s and 44.3±5.5 years, respectively, and the median 10-year risk of fatal CVD score was 0.4 (0.04-2.74). There was a positive correlation between PWV and the 10-year risk of fatal CVD (r=0.613; P<0.001) and vascular risk age (r=0.684; P<0.001).

CONCLUSION
Despite their young age and low to moderate 10-year risk of fatal CVD (<1%-5%) according to the SCORE chart, patients with a high vascular risk age were found to have high PWV values. These results show that calculations of vascular risk age might be used to assess the risk of fatal CVD in young patients and correlate with subclinical atherosclerosis.