Measuring of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) is a valid and viable method by which to assess arterial stiffness, a potential surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. The AIM of the study was to for the first time ever establish whether baPWV is a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients already diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) while all previous studies dealt solely with those having the risk factors.

Methods and Results: baPWV measurement was performed on 178 men with CAD aged 39–72 years (mean age 54.5 ± 7.7). The examination comprised body mass index, blood pressure, blood glucose, total cholesterol. During the 3-year follow-up period 38 patients experienced MACE (acute myocardial infarction, coronary intervention, or cardiac death). A receiver operating characteristic curve demonstrated that the best cut-off point of a baPWV for predicting a MACE was 13.35 m/s. A univariate binary logistic regression model demonstrated that only the baPWV had a significant odds ratio for MACE: 2.30 (1.10–4.81), p=0.024. Other risk factors including BP and age (with the сut-off point at the lowest tercile − 49.0 years) were not significantly associated with prognosis.

Conclusions: baPWV is the only significant predictor of MACE for middle aged men with CAD.