Arterial stiffness for the early prediction of pre-eclampsia compared with blood pressure, uterine artery Doppler and angiogenic biomarkers: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the ability of arterial stiffness parameters to predict pre-eclampsia early compared with peripheral blood pressure, uterine artery Doppler and established angiogenic biomarkers.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary care antenatal clinics in Montreal, Canada.

Population: Women with singleton high-risk pregnancies.

Methods: In the first trimester, arterial stiffness was measured by applanation tonometry, along with peripheral blood pressure and serum/plasma angiogenic biomarkers; uterine artery Doppler was measured in the second trimester. The predictive ability of different metrics was assessed through multivariate logistic regression.

Main outcome measures: Arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, carotid-radial pulse wave velocity) and wave reflection (augmentation index, reflected wave start time), peripheral blood pressure, ultrasound indices of velocimetry and circulating angiogenic biomarker concentrations.

Results: In this prospective study, among 191 high-risk pregnant women, 14 (7.3%) developed pre-eclampsia. A first-trimester 1 m/s increase in carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity was associated with 64% increased odds (P < 0.05), and a 1-millisecond increase in time to wave reflection with 11% decreased odds for pre-eclampsia (P < 0.01). The area under the curve of arterial stiffness, blood pressure, ultrasound indices and angiogenic biomarkers was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74-0.92), 0.71 (95% CI 0.57-0.86), 0.58 (95% CI 0.39-0.77), and 0.64 (95% CI 0.44-0.83), respectively. With a 5% false-positive rate, blood pressure had a sensitivity of 14% for pre-eclampsia and arterial stiffness a sensitivity of 36%.

Conclusions: Arterial stiffness predicted pre-eclampsia earlier and with greater ability than blood pressure, ultrasound indices or angiogenic biomarkers.

Keywords: angiogenic biomarkers; arterial stiffness; blood pressure; pre-eclampsia; pulse wave analysis; pulse wave velocity; ultrasound; uterine artery Doppler.