Prevalence of Arterial Stiffness Determined by Cardio-ankle Vascular Index in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Abstract Background: Cardiovascular events are the most serious complications for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). There was limited data regarding arterial stiffness in these patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study aiming to determine the prevalence of arterial stiffness that was evaluated by cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) in patients with polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). We defined arterial stiffness as a mean CAVI of 8.0 or more. We compared the prevalence of arterial stiffness in non-MPN patients with cardiovascular risk by matching age, sex, and Thai CV risk score. Results: A total of 80 patients were enrolled (PV, n = 50; ET, n = 24; PMF, n = 6) with median age of 63.5 years (IQR 50.9-76.1). The prevalence of arterial stiffness in patients with MPNs was 63.8%, and among patients with ET, PV, and PMF was 70.8%, 60.0%, 66.7%, respectively (p = 0.655). After matching, the prevalence of arterial stiffness was not statistically significant difference when compared to the non-MPN population with cardiovascular risk (65.2% vs 60.9%, P = 0.539). Conclusion The prevalence of arterial stiffness in patients with MPNs was 63.8% which was comparable to non-MPN patients with cardiovascular risk.