Aortic Stiffness and Cardiac Modification After Open Or Endovascular Aortic Treatment: Preliminary Results of a Single Centre Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective: Increased arterial stiffness, particularly aortic stiffness (AoS), is considered an independent marker of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. According to the literature, aortic endovascular treatment correlates to a worsening of AoS in the medium term, indirectly evaluated as an increase in pulse wave velocity (PWV). This appears to lead to changes in cardiac geometry and efficiency. The arterial elastance (Ea) represents the total workload opposite to the left ventricle; it is a poorly researched parameter in this field but it could estimate the total arterial compliance. The aim of this study is to evaluate possible changes in AoS with consequent alterations in cardiac function after endovascular repair (ER) or open surgery (OS), also by comparing these two different techniques.