Background Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide. In this setting, Neck Circumference (NC) and Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) are simple and valuable tools for an early evaluation of cardiovascular risk through the assessment of upper body obesity and arterial stiffness. However, the associations between both measurements have not been systematically explored. Methods A population-based cross-sectional study representative of a neighborhood of Salvador-BA, Brazil. Data were collected between December 2016 and May 2019, and comprise 130 individuals for the present study. Variables such as age, sex, education levels and NC were analyzed to verify their associations with PWV status. Correlations between PWV and NC were performed to further depict their association. Results There was a predominance of patients with elevated PWV. The subgroup of patients aged 60 years or older presented the largest proportion of PWV alterations over normal results. There was a majority of women in the study population and sex could not determine PWV status. There was a predominance of concomitant elevation of NC and PWV in the studied population. NC measurements could distinguish PWV status from women and the study population. NC and PWV had a positive and statistically significant correlation for women and for the general population. Conclusion These findings suggest a possible association between upper body obesity and vascular homeostasis impairment. Therefore, screening patients with both measurements could prove relevant to better identify subclinical vascular perturbations and further delimitate prognosis related to cardiovascular events potentially associated with them.

Background: Arterial Hypertension (AH) is an uncertain and complex physiopathological disease with the Arterial Stiffness (AS) as one of the main cardiovascular alterations. Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) is the gold standard marker for assessment of the vascular aging and an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based studies, in the restricted area of Vale do Ogunjá, Salvador-Bahia. Sociodemographic data, through questionnaire and clinical data were obtained. A PWV was evaluated by applanation tonometry using the device SphygmoCor® (AtCor Medical Pty Ltd, New South Wales, Australia). Frequency and descriptive measurements of central and dispersion were obtained, and the Chi-square test to statistical analysis. Results: PWV presented a higher mean in hypertensive patients (10.0 ± 2.2 m/s). There was a higher prevalence of AS in male individuals with advanced age and presence of risk factors. The prevalence ratio of AS was 3.7 times higher in hypertensive patients (p = 0.002; 95% CI: 1.6-8.5) and 7.5 times higher in patients aged above 40-74 years (p = 0.015; 95% CI: 2.4-23.1). Conclusion: There was an important relation between AS and increased of PWV in the presence of hypertension. The relevance of this study is associated with the use of non-invasive clinical evaluation of PWV, contributing to improve morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients.

Introduction: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is considered a gold standard for assessment of arterial stiffness [1]; neck circumference (NC) is a good anthropometrical indicator of fat accumulation in the upper body region [2]. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study representative of a neighborhood of Salvador-BA, Brazil, distributed in 12 census tracts according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The overall sample is randomized in adults from the assigned area, from December 2016 to May 2019 comprise 145 people. Individual and household records are filled out PWV was the measuring velocity between the carotid and right femoral wave, coupled to the electrocardiogram. The committee for research on human subjects of the FTC approved the protocol (No1827621). The measurement equipment was the flattening tonometer SphygmoCor® apparatus (XCEL, AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia). The NC was obtained by using an inelastic fiberglass tape measure based on the height of the cricothyroid cartilage. The values ≥37 cm for men or ≥34 cm for women were used for their classification [3]. The frequency and descriptive measures, Spearman's linear correlation coefficient between the laboratory tests and adjusted PWV. STATA v.12 software was used for treatment and generation of results. The level of statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: There was a predominance of women (70.3%). The correlation is the same for both sexes (r = 0.30), a weak positive, however it was statistically significant for women (p = 0.0031). Conclusion: The NC and PWV measurements showed a weakly positive. There was a statistically significant correlation for women.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality worldwide and are directly linked to their risk factors, highlighting systemic arterial hypertension (SAH). Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a predictor of cardiovascular risk. Its increase directly implies morbidity and mortality.Objective: To estimate the prevalence of SAH and arterial stiffness in a community in Salvador-BA to stratify and verify association according to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.Method: Cross-sectional study in the Vale do Ogunjá, Salvador-BA. Sociodemographic variables were analyzed using a questionnaire survey. The examinations were performed at the FTC Clinic, such as the measurement of arterial stiffness using the SphygmoCor applanation tonometer (Atcor Medical Blood Pressure Analysis System, Sydney, Australia). Prevalence was used as a measure of occurrence, Prevalence Ratio (PR) and several confidence intervals (95% CI) as a measure of association, estimated as a function of Odds Ratio using binary logistic regression. The 5% level of statistical significance was adopted.Results: 151 individuals were studied, the prevalence of SAH was 30.46% and Arterial Stiffness was 25.2%. There was an association between these variables and the chance of having arterial stifness in the presence of SAH is 3.7 times greater in relation to nonhypertensive patients, PR 3.7 (p <0.05; 95% CI: 1.6-8, 5). SAH was associated with age, dysglycemia and overweight, while arterial stiffness was associated with age between 40 to 74years, low education and obesity. Conclusion:There was a prevalence of SAH 30.7% and arterial stiffness 25.8%, and an association of exposure with age and BMI was also observed.