Figure 5. Cardiac Consequences of Arterial Stiffening.
Earlier arrival of wave reflections favor a loss of coronary perfusion pressure on one hand, and increased mid-to-late systolic load on the other, due to a shift of wave reflection arrival from diastole to systole. In populations with stiff aortas, muscular artery function may become a key determinant of the apparent distance to reflection sites and thus the effects of wave reflections on the central aorta, for any given PWV. PWV=pulse wave velocity. FW=forward wave. BW=backward wave.