Diabetes and arterial stiffness, our experiences

Abstract

Introduction. The incidence and prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased worldwide but also in the Republic of Macedonia, Diabetes is a high-ranking a cause of death, primarily as a cause of cardiovascular death. In the United States, 42% of diabetic patients have diabetic nephropathy, with a 20-fold increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. Arterial rigidity is another independent risk factor for CV death, which is a degenerative process of remodeling the large arteries wall. There is increased arterial rigidity in both: diabetic patients and in patients with arterial hypertension, but studies that address these issues do not have consistency in the results, which was our motive for this study. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study that comprised 62 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2, aged over 38 years, followed at the University Clinic for Nephrology for diagnosis of, or already diagnosed hypertension. The control group consisted of 22 healthy subjects who had not been diagnosed with either DM type 2 or arterial hypertension. We examined pulse wave velocity, and analyzed hypertension with data obtained from 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The obtained data were statistically processed. Results. The results were displayed in tables. Conclusion. Arterial stiffness (measured by PWV) was higher in patients with DM compared to the control group of healthy subjects. In our study HgA1c had impact on PWV which can serve as a tool for assessing CV risk and arterial rigidity. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, arterial rigidity, pulse wave velocity