Background: Arterial stiffness is a risk factor for symptomatic stroke, and is associated with symptomatic cerebral infarction and cognitive impairment. Hence, we hypothesized that arterial stiffness would be a significant determinant of silent cerebrovascular lesions. Methods: The subjects were 363 individuals without symptomatic cerebrovascular lesions who had their arterial stiffness assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurement. The subjects were classified into two groups by the presence or absence of lacunar infarcts, as well as into three groups by grade of white matter hyperintensity (WMH). baPWV was compared among these groups. Results: Eighty-six subjects had lacunar infarcts. Of 138 subjects with WMHs, 102 were classified as having grade 1 and 36 as having grade 2 or 3 WMHs. baPWV was significantly higher in subjects with lacunar infarcts than in those without (17.3 ± 0.3 vs. 16.4 ± 0.2 m/s). baPWV tended to increase with higher WMH grade (16.2 ± 0.2, 16.9 ± 0.3, and 17.8 ± 0.5 m/s in grade 0, 1, and 2 or 3, respectively) after adjustments for confounding factors. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for lacunar infarcts in subjects with middle-tertile baPWV was significantly higher (OR, 2.37; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.10–5.11) and the OR in subjects with the highest-tertile baPWV tended to be higher (OR 2.26; 95% CI 0.99–5.45) compared with the lowest-tertile baPWV. The adjusted OR for WMH tended to increase with increased baPWV. Conclusions: Arterial stiffness appeared to be associated with the presence of a lacunar infarct and WMH, independently of the risks for other cerebrovascular diseases.

Microalbuminuria is recognized as a marker of generalized vascular dysfunction. However, the associations between microalbuminuria and pulse wave velocity (PWV), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), respectively, have not been investigated. Brachial–ankle PWV (baPWV), IMT, and ABP were determined in 328 individuals (mean age, 65.7 ± 6.4 years) from the general population of Ohasama, a rural Japanese community. The participants were assigned to groups with microalbuminuria and with normoalbuminuria, and their characteristics were compared. We also examined the association between microalbuminuria and baPWV, IMT, and ABP, respectively, using multivariate analyses. Seventy-nine participants (24%) with microalbuminuria had significantly higher baPWV (P < 0.001) and 24-h systolic BP (SBP) (P = 0.006) than those with normoalbuminuria, although 24-h pulse pressure and mean IMT did not significantly differ between the groups. Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that baPWV, but not 24-h ABP, was independently associated with microalbuminuria (P = 0.002) when adjusted for various confounding factors. After further adjustment for 24-h SBP, the association between baPWV and microalbuminuria remained significant (P = 0.012). The trend was significant even when daytime or nighttime SBP was used instead of 24-hour SBP in this model. Microalbuminuria appears to be associated with baPWV more closely than with IMT and ABP, and its association with baPWV is independent of ABP and other cardiovascular risk factors.