Table 1.

Baseline characteristics by quartiles of aortic pulse wave velocity

Characteristic	All Patients (n = 2129)	aPWV Quartile				P Value
		1 (312–641 cm/s) (n = 546)	1 (642–808 cm/s) (n =546)	3 (809–1052 cm/s) (n = 518)	4 (1053–2998 cm/s) (n = 519)
Age (yr)	74±3	73±3	74±3	74±3	74±3	<0.001
Female (%)	53	58	56	50	46	<0.001
Black (%)	38	34	39	38	43	0.004
Hypertension (%)	46	36	45	50	57	<0.001
SBP (mmHg)	136±21	130±19	134±19	138±21	141±22	<0.001
DBP (mmHg)	72±11	70±11	72±11	72±11	73±12	<0.001
Diabetes (%)	14	8	11	17	21	<0.001
Smoking (%)						0.003
Never	45	51	45	41	43
Former	46	40	46	52	47
Current	9	9	9	8	10
BMI (kg/m2)	27±5	26.2±4.4	27.7±(4.6)	28.0±4.9	27.6±4.9	<0.001
Total cholesterol (mg/dl)	204±38	203±35	205±(37)	203±41	203±40	0.71
HDL cholesterol (mg/dl)	54±17	57±17	55±16	53±17	53±18	<0.001
LDL cholesterol (mg/dl)	122±35	121±32	123±34	122±36	122±36	0.77
Triglycerides (mg/dl)a	119 (89–166]	114 (83–151)	119 (91–172)	123 (92–172)	121 (90–174)	0.001
Albumin (g/dl)	4.00±0.31	3.99±0.33	4.03±0.30	4.00±0.31	4.01±0.30	0.58
eGFRcysC (ml/min per 1.73 m2)	79±19	82±19	80±18	77±19	76±20	<0.001
AAI < 0.9 (%)	12	8	12	13	17	<0.001
MAP (mmHg)	93±13	90±12	92±12	94±13	96±13	<0.001
Pulse pressure (mmHg)	64±18	60±16	63±16	66±18	69±19	<0.001
Prevalent disease (%)
Heart failure	2	2	2	3	3	0.61
Coronary heart disease	23	20	19	27	24	0.01
Peripheral artery disease	5	5	4	6	5	0.46

Values expressed with a plus/minus sign are the mean ± SD. aPWV, aortic pulse wave velocity; SBP, systolic BP; DBP, diastolic BP; BMI, body mass index; eGFR_cysC, GFR estimated using cystatin C; AAI, ankle arm index; MAP, mean arterial pressure.

^aMedian (interquartile range).