Elastic characteristics of the aorta in patients with a new diagnosis of metabolic syndrome

INTRODUCTION: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a known risk factor of cardiovascular disease. However, it is not identified whether MS made alterations in the elasticity of the aorta in the early period before significant atherosclerosis occurred. The purpose of the study was to evaluate aortic elastic properties of patients who were newly diagnosed with MS.
METHODS: The research was performed among 100 patients of newly diagnosed MS(49 males; mean age 46 ± 9 years) with normal sinus rhythm, and 55 cases without MS (29 males; mean age 45 ± 9 years), matched by age. All participants underwent comprehensive physical and cardiological examination, biochemical examination, anthropological measurement and echocardiography.
RESULTS: Aortic diameter change was significantly lower in MS group compared to control group (0.014 ± 0.04 vs 0.25 ± 0.1, p <0.01), aortic stiffness was significantly higher in the MS group (10.65 ± 4.52 vs 5.7 ± 2.42, p<0.01) compared to the age-matched control group. Multiple regression analysis shows that there is an independent relationship with each of the age, body mass index, HDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Aortic stiffness index was higher in newly diagnosed MS patients compared to the control group. The vascular system can be affected even without diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and coronary artery disease, which is excluded by history and noninvasive evaluation.