Fig. 2.

A schematic representation of approximate patterns of change in key pulsatile hemodynamic measures with advancing age. Peripheral systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) all increase modestly before age 60 yr, whereas PPP falls slightly. During this early phase, augmentation index (AI) increases dramatically, whereas aortic and peripheral pulse wave velocity (PWV) change modestly. In contrast, after 60 yr of age, PPP increases dramatically and AI plateaus despite an ongoing increase in aortic PWV. At this transition point, aortic PWV meets then exceeds peripheral PWV, leading to a reduction in reflection at this junction (Fig. 1B), likely explaining the plateau in AI despite increasing aortic PWV.