Abstract: Objective To investigate arterial stiffness and compliance in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and explore the alterations of arterial stiffness and compliance and the clinical factors which influence these alterations when in combination with hypertension and type 2 diabetes.Methods 82 patients with primary hypercholesterolemia were divided into three subgroups,isolated hypercholesterolemia group(subgroup 1,(n=)25),complicated with hypertension group(subgroup 2,(n=)43),complicated with hypertension and type 2 diabetes group(subgroup3,n=14);46 subjects were enrolled as control group(n=46).Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity(PWV) was measured by a validated automatic device as an index of arterial stiffness,ratio of stroke volume(SV) measured by ultrasound to pulse pressure(PP)(SV/PP) as an index of total arterial compliance.Results Compared with the control group,PWV in hypercholesterolemia group was increased significantly [((10.58±)1.55),((8.96±)1.01)] m/s(P<0.05) and SV/PP decreased significantly [(1.71±0.67),(2.06±0.73)] mL/mmHg(P<0.05);PWV was different significantly between two subgroups respectively,with the increasing number of risk factors,the differences were augmented,SV/PP also had significant difference between subgroup1 and subgroup3(P<0.05);Analysis of correlation and multiple stepwise regression: PWV was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure(SBP),age and fasting blood sugar(FBS),its multiple linear regression equation was: PWV=1.98+0.055(Age)+0.024(SBP)+0.023(FBS);SV/PP was negatively correlated with pulse pressure(SBP) and HDL-C,its equation was SV/PP=5.178-0.020(SBP)-0.016(HDL-C).Conclusion PWV was increased and SV/PP decreased significantly in hypercholesterolemia patients;With the number of risk factors increasing,such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes,the alterations were augmented;PWV seems to be a sensitive index for early vascular function alteration;SBP,FBS,HDL-C were closely related to the alterations of arterial stiffness and compliance.

Key words: hypercholesterolemia, arterial stiffness, arterial compliance