| Summary: | Objectives: Cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), a parameter of arterial stiffness, has been increasingly used for cardiovascular risk estimation. Currently used CAVI reference values are derived from the Japanese population. It is not clear whether the same reference values can be used in the Caucasian population. The aim of the present study was to describe cardiovascular risk factors influencing CAVI and to establish CAVI reference values.
Methods: 2160 individuals randomly selected from the Brno city population aged 25–65 years were examined. Of these, 1347 subjects were free from cardiovascular disease, non- diabetic and untreated by antihypertensive or lipid-lowering drugs, forming the reference value population. CAVI was measured using the VaSera VS-1000 device.
Results: At each blood pressure (BP) level, there was a quadratic association between CAVI and age, except for a linear association in the optimal BP group. While there was no association between BP and CAVI in younger subjects, there was a linear association between CAVI and BP after 40 years of age. Reference values by age and gender were established. In each age group, except for the male 60–65 group, reference values in our population were lower than in the Japanese one with the difference ranging from −0.29 to 0.21 for males, and from −0.38 to −0.03 for females.
Conclusion: This is the first study providing CAVI reference values in a random sample of the Caucasian population. Our results suggest that the currently used values slightly overestimate CAVI in younger Caucasian, possibly underestimating cardiovascular risk.
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