Therapeutic Modulation of Aortic Stiffness

摘要

Aortic stiffness (AS) is an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity in humans. The present review discusses the possible pathophysiological mechanisms of AS and focuses on a survey of different therapeutic modalities for decreasing AS. The influence of several nonpharmacological interventions is described: decrease body weight, diet, aerobic exercise training, music, and continuous positive airway pressure therapy. The effects of different pharmacological drug classes on AS are also discussed: antihypertensive drugsrenin-angiotensin-aldosterone system drugs, beta-blockers, alpha-blockers, diuretics, and calcium channel blockers (CCBs)advanced glycation end product cross-link breakers, statins, oral anti-diabetics, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin D, antioxidant vitamins, and endothelin-1 receptor antagonists. All of these have shown some effect in decreasing AS.