“…Specifically, our recent studies with atomic force microscopy (AFM) have demonstrated similar characteristics of aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in both aging and hypertension, indicating that VSMC‐mediated regulation is a fundamental basis of aortic stiffening in both conditions (Qiu et al., 2010; Zhou, Lee, Stoll, Ma, Costa, et al. 2017; Zhou, Lee, Stoll, Ma, Wiener, et al 2017). However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.…”