Cardiovascular risk factors have been linked with deteriorations in cerebrovascular function in the brain, causing cell loss, particularly in the white matter. The mechanisms by which cardiovascular risk factors influence the microvasculature is unclear. Increased blood pressure and associated arterial stiffness/morphological changes in larger cerebral vessels are thought to play a key role. Here, we demonstrate that central pulse pressure along with associated changes in carotid radius and tortuosity better predict the white matter lesion burden in the brain compared with other measures of blood pressure and systemic arterial stiffness.
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