Uncovering the link between arterial stiffening, high blood pressure and heart and circulatory disease

Evolution of arterial stiffness, pressure wave reflection and the stiff hypertension phenotype in women: a longitudinal study in Twins UK

As we age, the composition of our arteries changes, leading to what researchers and clinicians call ‘stiffening’. This change can cause damaging effects that can increase blood pressure. Over time, this can lead to heart and circulatory disease. Further research is important to develop new ways to target high blood pressure and identify the underlying causes to prevent risk of a heart attack or stroke. Professor Philip Chowienczyk and his team have been conducting a study of women from the Twins UK cohort who have gone through the menopause (average age 58 years), as this is the group for whom the risk of arterial stiffening is thought to be highest. Over the past 15 years, their physical characteristics, health and genetic features have been analysed. Every year the researchers obtain key information about the women, including the occurrence of a heart attack or stroke. BHF funding has enabled the researchers to record particular new information on the features of the heart and circulatory system for around 2,500 participants. Now the team wants to build on this information to identify the links between arterial stiffening, changes in blood pressure and eventual risk of heart and circulatory disease. Over the next two years they will reanalyse 1,400 of the women, who were studied between 1996 and 2010. This will mean that there is detailed information on the women’s blood pressure for a period of nearly 18 years, which covers the period of their life in which they are at most risk of disease. Furthermore, studying twins will help identify any genetic causes behind the development of arterial stiffening and high blood pressure. Identifying these genes could lead to new treatments. Little is known about what actually causes stiffening to occur in the first place and so the group could uncover the structural changes that happen to the artery wall. The results will be a unique resource that should help unravel important age-related changes in the circulatory system. It could help plan future studies of patients to investigate how to prevent or reverse arterial stiffening.