Vascular age concept: role in assessing risk and choosing therapy
The article discusses the vascular age concept and modern approaches to assessing vascular age. It describes modern methods for measuring arterial stiffness (applanation tonometry or ultrasonic Doppler examination) as the most frequently used index of vascular age. The authors discuss the role of antihypertensive therapy and statins in preventing early vascular aging, and the relationship between the role of achieving lower blood pressure levels and the choice of certain antihypertensive agents to reduce arterial stiffness and ensure optimal vascular age. Increased arterial stiffness has been reported to be a marker of risk for developing severe complications of cardiovascular diseases, in particular, a meta-analysis showed that after taking into account the known risk factors for developing cardiovascular complications, higher carotid stiffness was associated with an increased risk of stroke. It is stated that in addition to biological age, vascular age may increase due to the cumulative effect of such risk factors as high blood pressure, impaired glucose homeostasis, obesity and hypercholesterolemia. Modern approaches to the preservation and maintenance of vascular age are discussed. The key role of achieving lower blood pressure levels is considered. It is emphasized that the role of combination drugs in preventing complications of cardiovascular diseases is strengthened, and approaches to choosing the optimal components of such combination drugs are also considered. The relationship between increased arterial stiffness and the development of cognitive disorders is discussed. The article describes the role of statins and effectiveness of the concomitant use of statins and combination antihypertensive therapy in reducing the pulse wave velocity.