Introduction: Younger women are considered to have low cardiovascular (CV) risk. Predictive scoring systems aim to assess overall CV risk from multiple risk factors to guide treatment decisions. Aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV) may be a more efficient, ‘integrated’ CV index providing a more effective treatment target than risk factors alone. We examined the relationship of CV risk scores to aPWV in younger women.

Patients and Methods: 193 pre-menopausal women (age 36.2 years, 95% CI 35.1–37.2) underwent anthropometric, biochemical and aPWV measures. 10 year CV risk score was estimated using the Joint British Guidelines, similar to the Europe-wide ‘Heartscore’ initiative. BMI, waist & bio-impedance estimates of adiposity (fat mass index) were tested.

Results: CV risk scores were significantly higher in women who had had gestational diabetes (2.35%) than in those without (1.34%), p=0.004, but surprisingly were not for previous gestational hypertension (1.21 vs. 1.27 %). After adjusting for other CV risk modulators not included in risk scores, (social deprivation (Townsend’s index), hsCRP, heart rate), residual independent influences on aPWV were:

Conclusion: In young women, even without overt diabetes or hypertension, adjusting for other factors, current adiposity and calculated CV risk were independently related to aPVW. This suggests aPWV reflects the ‘load’ of CV risk at this age better than CV scores alone (which omit obesity indices).