Peripheral Arterial Disease and Age-Related Changes in Arterial Stiffness: Findings from a Large Cohort of Patients
Annie TL Young, Slav Danev, Ian Jenkins, Michael Alexander, Jonathan RT Lakey
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) affects over 200 million people globally, with prevalence rising from
164 million in 2000 to 236 million in 2015. This study utilizes Medeia Inc.'s VitalScan-Vascular+ system,
which integrates ABI, PWV, and PVR technologies, to improve PAD screening and management. By
analyzing arterial stiffness across various indices (ABI, AI, EEI, DEI, DDI, C1, and C2) in a large
cohort (n=227,173), the study found that most indices, except AI and C2, decline linearly with age,
reflecting reduced arterial elasticity and increased stiffness. Despite these changes, ABI values remained
within normal ranges for all participants. Male indices consistently exhibited higher values than those
of females. These findings underscore the importance of using multiple indices for a comprehensive
assessment of arterial health. Integrating ABI with arterial stiffness metrics offers a robust framework
for evaluating cardiovascular risk and PAD, highlighting the need for diverse diagnostic tools to
enhance patient management. Medeia Inc. aims to leverage this framework to develop cardiovascular
databases for PAD diagnosis that go beyond age-related effects and support personalized treatment
protocols. Future research should focus on refining these metrics and exploring their interactions to
improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical practice in cardiovascular care.
