Impact of Comorbid PTSD and Hypertension on Arterial Stiffness Compared to PTSD, Hypertension, and Healthy Controls

作者：C. Walker, Melissa J. McGranahan, Jeanie Park · 发表于：Physiology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1152/physiol.2026.41.s1.2288123

Background: Individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have an elevated risk of developing hypertension (HYP) and cardiovascular disease compared to those without PTSD. The combined effects of comorbid PTSD and HYP on arterial stiffness (AS) are not well understood. This study evaluated AS in individuals with comorbid PTSD and HYP (PTSD+HYP) compared to HYP alone, PTSD alone, and healthy normotensive controls (CON). Hypothesis: Participants with comorbid PTSD+HYP will exhibit higher markers of AS compared to HYP, PTSD, and CON groups. Methods: 56 individuals were enrolled (PTSD+HYP: n = 8, 47.0±8.3 yrs, M:F = 8:0; HYP: n = 8, 51.4 ± 10.0 yrs, M:F = 3:5; PTSD: n = 28, 45.1 ± 10.0 yrs, M:F = 12:16; CON: n = 12, 45.1 ± 13.5 yrs, M:F = 9:3). AS was measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and pulse wave analysis (PWA) using SphygmoCor. PWA measures included: brachial systolic blood pressure (bSBP), brachial diastolic blood pressure (bDBP), brachial pulse pressure (bPP), brachial mean arterial pressure (bMAP), aortic systolic blood pressure (aSBP), aortic diastolic pressure (aDBP), aortic pulse pressure (aPP), aortic mean arterial pressure (aMAP), augmentation index at heart rate of 75 BPM (AIx75HR), ejection duration (ED), and subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR). One-way ANOVAs were performed for all normally distributed outcomes. Bonferroni post hoc comparisons were then used to compare differences between groups. Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed fo...