How Does Arterial Stiffness Affect Renal Function?
Our cross-sectional study cannot establish causality relations, and it should be remembered that several cardiovascular risk factors, including aging, diabetes, and high BP, are known to increase, per se, the levels of arterial stiffness and plasma creatinine.28 However, we show that the association between GFR and arterial stiffness is independent of the confounding effect of age and other major risk factors. The possibility cannot be excluded that aortic stiffness might be responsible for a reduced GFR through an increase in aortic pulse pressure.29 Glomerular capillaries are exposed to relatively high mean and pulse pressures, approximating 60% of the arterial values. While ensuring a high filtration fraction, these high levels of pressure expose glomerular capillaries to potentially damaging pulse pressure. A hemodynamic effect of pulse pressure on the myogenic tone of afferent arterioles has been demonstrated in vitro in a perfused hydronephrotic rat kidney model.30 The glomerulus
