Research

Development and Validation of the AI-HeartAge Model in Framingham and UK Biobank

Arterial pressure waveform shape conveys information regarding interactions between the left ventricle and aorta that could provide an estimate of biological heart age and cardiovascular disease risk. Artificial intelligence heart age (AI-HA) was estimated by averaging results from two convolutional neural networks trained to predict mitral annulus tissue Doppler e’ and s’ peak velocities using an uncalibrated arterial tonometry or photoplethysmography waveform as input. In Cox models that adjusted for PREVENT risk factors, AI-HA was associated with incident heart failure during 10 years of follow up in Framingham Heart Study and UK Biobank participants. AI-HA is a novel and accessible measure of accelerated heart aging and heart failure risk in community-based samples.

Relations of Artificial Intelligence Vascular Age with Cardiometabolic Disease Progression: The Framingham Heart Study

Aortic stiffening increases pulsatile power transmission into the microvasculature, resulting in blunted microvascular reactivity, which can impair postprandial nutrient processing and glucose homeostasis. Relations of artificial intelligence vascular age (AI-VA), a measure of aortic stiffness, with new-onset hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and lipid abnormalities were assessed in 7188 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) participants by using Cox proportional hazards regression. In our community-based sample with repeated measures, AI-VA, a measure of aortic stiffness, had bidirectional relations with continuous cardiometabolic measures and incident CMD, highlighting the potential utility of AI-VA as a novel screening tool for CMD risk.

Vascular Age Assessed From an Uncalibrated, Noninvasive Pressure Waveform by Using a Deep Learning Approach: The AI-VascularAge Model

Aortic stiffness, as carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, provides a measure of vascular age and risk for adverse cardiovascular disease outcomes, but it is difficult to measure. The shape of arterial pressure waveforms conveys information regarding aortic stiffness; however, the best methods to extract and interpret waveform features remain controversial.

Arterial Stiffness and Cardiovascular Events: The Framingham Heart Study

Various measures of arterial stiffness and wave reflection have been proposed as cardiovascular risk markers. Prior studies have not assessed relations of a comprehensive panel of stiffness measures to prognosis in the community.

Changes in Arterial Stiffness and Wave Reflection With Advancing Age in Healthy Men and Women: The Framingham Heart Study

With advancing age, arterial stiffness and wave reflections increase and elevate systolic and pulse pressures. An elevated central pulse pressure is generally ascribed to increased wave reflection and portends an unfavorable prognosis. Using arterial tonometry, we evaluated central (carotid-femoral) and peripheral (carotid-brachial) pulse wave velocity, amplitudes of forward and reflected pressure waves, and augmentation index in 188 men and 333 women in the Framingham Heart Study offspring cohort...

Aortic Stiffness, Blood Pressure Progression, and Incident Hypertension

Vascular stiffness increases with advancing age and is a major risk factor for age-related morbidity and mortality. Vascular stiffness and blood pressure pulsatility are related; however, temporal relationships between vascular stiffening and blood pressure elevation have not been fully delineated.

Effects of central arterial aging on the structure and function of the peripheral vasculature: implications for end-organ damage

Over the past decade, numerous studies have shown that increased aortic stiffness is associated with major cardiovascular disease end points, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. Cardiac abnormalities and enhanced atherogenesis in the setting of increased pulsatile load on heart and arteries have been well described. However, recent studies have shown a further association between excessive pressure pulsatility and a number of afflictions of aging that share a predominant microvascular etiology...