Arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients with nonsustained atrial tachycardia

Objectives: The pathophysiological mechanisms of increased arterial stiffness, currently an independent risk factor for atrial fibrillation, remain poorly understood. This study investigated the association of arterial stiffness with the presence of nonsustained atrial tachycardia (NSAT) in hypertensive patients. Methods: : We included sixty participants from a single centre without evident cardiovascular disease who underwent extensive cardiovascular examination. Arterial stiffness was assessed by pulse wave velocity (PWV) and Augmentation Index corrected for a heart rate of 75 bpm (Aix@75). Speckle-tracking echocardiography assessed left atrial (LA) function. A 24-hour ECG was used to identify patients with NSAT. Results: : There was no statistically significant difference in arterial stiffness between groups. Compared to the control group, NSAT group was older (69.82 ± 6.92 vs. 63.32 ± 6.98, p value 0.001), with more men (43.3% vs. 16.7%, p=0.047), higher prevalence of interatrial block (43.3% vs. 16.7%, p=0.047), lower use of ACEIs/ARBs (73.3% vs. 96.7%, p=0.026) and higher proportion of patients with high BNP levels (31.0% vs. 0.0%, p< 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference for LA strain parameters. Conclusion: In this small pilot study, in hypertensive individuals without major cardiovascular comorbidities arterial stiffness was not associated with an increased presence of NSAT on 24-hour ECG.