AORTIC STIFFNESS IS INCREASED IN NORMOTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUSAbstracts from the 17th National Congress of the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Prevention (SIPREC), Naples, 21-23 March 2019

Introduction: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular(CV) events. A marker of early vascular aging (EVA) isaortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) which is a measure ofarterial stiffness.Aim: To evaluate aPWV and the prevalence of EVA in agroup of normotensive patients with SLE and to comparethese values with those obtained in age- and gender-matchedcontrol subjects.Method: Aortic PWV was measured by a validatedoscillometric device (Arteriograph). EVA was identifiedwhen the age-adjusted z-score of aPWV exceeded ? 1.96(EVA1). The aPWV z-score was calculated using the ratio‘‘Observed PWV–Predicted PWV/SD Predicted’’ and weobtained the predicted PWV values through regressionequation. We adopted another definition of EVA (EVA2)wherein we included individuals with PWV values abovethe 90th percentile of aPWV distribution.Results: We enrolled 57 patients with SLE, aged37.6 ± 11 years (9% men) and 29 healthy controls, aged37.6 ± 9 years (10% men). Aortic PWV, aPWV z score,prevalence of EVA1 (12.3 vs 0%; p = 0.049) and EVA2(19.3 vs 0%; p = 0.011) were significantly higher in SLEpatients than in controls (Figure 1). The associations ofaPWV and of aPWV z score with SLE were confirmed inmultivariate models built in the overall study population,after adjustment for age, sex, BMI and mean blood pressure(both p.001).Conclusions: The impaired aortic distensibility weobserved in patients with SLE may help to explain theirincreased CV risk.