Metabolic syndrome with aortic arterial stiffness and first hospitalization or mortality in coronary artery disease patients

Abstract

Purpose: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and aortic arterial stiffness (AS) are risk factors for future cardiovascular events. We evaluated their roles in first hospitalization or all-cause mortality prediction in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Patients and methods: From January to December 2012, 115 CAD patients were enrolled from a single center and followed up for 5.5 years. The composite endpoint included hospitalization for unstable angina, myocardial infarction, revascularization, or heart failure and all-cause mortality. Patients with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity > 10 m/s (mea-sured using applanation tonometry) constituted the high AS group. Results: During a median 54-month follow-up, there were 43 (37.4%) and 11 (9.6%) hospitalization and mortality events, respectively. Overall, 41 (35.7%) and 70 (60.9%) patients were diagnosed with AS and MetS, respectively. CAD patients with high AS had higher diabetes and MetS percentages, were older, and had higher waist circumference and systolic blood pressure (SBP) but lower glomerular filtration rate than those with low AS. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed old age (P < 0.001), diabetes (P = 0.003), and high waist circumference (P = 0.044) and SBP (P = 0.007) as independent predictors of AS in CAD patients. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that CAD patients with concurrent MetS and high AS had a higher risk for hospitalization (log rank test, P = 0.005) or developing all-cause mortality (log rank test, P = 0.002). Compared with CAD patients without MetS or AS, composite outcome development risk in those with both the conditions was 10.2-fold higher (P < 0.001); this risk was 6.54-fold higher in those with AS alone (P = 0.007). Conclusion: In CAD patients, age, diabetes, and high waist circumference and SBP are the independent predictors of AS. Additionally, CAD patients with AS with and without MetS have a high first hospitalization or all-cause mortality development risk.