Decreased Arterial Elasticity Assessed by Pulse Wave Velocity in Patients with Behçet’s Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Behçet's disease (BD) is a rare chronic disorder. The predominant histopathological lesion is vasculitis. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a marker of aortic stiffness and inversely related to arterial distensibility, elasticity, or relative arterial compliance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the arterial elasticity using PWV in patients with BD. Patients and Methods: A total of 25 patients with BD (21 male) and 21 healthy subjects (10 male) without known traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia, were studied. The mean time of disease duration was 3.6 ± 2.5 (1-10) years. Arterial elasticity was assessed by automatic carotid-femoral (aortic) PWV measurement by the Complior Colson (France) device. PWV is calculated by the following formula: Pulse wave velocity (m/s) = distance (m)/transit time (s). Results: The carotid-femoral (aortic) PWV (10.66 ± 1.74 vs. 8.16 ± 0.84 m/s) and diastolic blood pressure (79.00 ± 10.10 vs. 73.33 ± 8.11 mmHg) were higher in patients with BD than in the control groups (p< 0.001 and p= 0.03, respectively). A significant correlation was found between PWV and age, diastolic blood pressure, and mean blood pressure in the studied group (p< 0.001, r= 0.56; p= 0.02, r= 0.32; and p= 0.03, r= 0.31, respectively). Conclusion: Arterial elasticity assessed by carotid-femoral (aortic) PWV, an indicator of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis, is lower in patients with BD than in healthy controls.