Arterial Stiffness and Aortic Aneurysmal Disease - A Narrative Review.

It has been documented that large-artery stiffness is independently associated with increased cardiovascular risk and may potentially lead to heart and kidney failure and cerebrovascular disease. A systematic review of studies investigating changes in arterial stiffness in patients undergoing endovascular repair of aortic disease was conducted. In addition, a review of the available literature was performed, analyzing findings from studies using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) as a marker of arterial stiffness. Overall, 26 studies were included in the present analysis. Our research revealed a high heterogeneity of included studies regarding the techniques used to assess the aortic stiffness. Aortic stiffness was assessed by pulse wave velocity (PWV), elastic modulus (Ep), and augmentation index (AI). Currently a few studies exist investigating the role of CAVI in patients having an aortic aneurysm or undergoing endovascular aortic repair. The majority of studies showed that the treatment of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) either with open repair (OR) or endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) reduces aortic compliance significantly. Whether EVAR reconstruction might contribute a higher effect on arterial stiffness compared to OR needs further focused research. An increase of arterial stiffness was uniformly observed in studies investigating patients following thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), and the effect was more pronounced in young patients. The effects of increased arterial stiffness after EVAR and TEVAR on the heart and the central hemodynamic, and an eventual effect on cardiac systolic function, need to be further investigated and evaluated in large studies and special groups of patients.

Endovascular treatment of a giant renal artery aneurysm associated with an arteriovenous fistula: Report of a case and review of the literature.

Renal artery aneurysm (RAA) concomitant with a renal arteriovenous fistula (RAVF) has been infrequently reported in the literature. We report a case of a 42-year-old man suffering from a giant RAA combined with a congenital high-flow RAVF. The contrast-enhanced CTA showed a 12.7-cm RAA synchronous with an RAVF between the right renal artery and a draining vein. After a comprehensive preoperative assessment, an endovascular approach was decided. Successful embolization was performed using an Amplatzer vascular Plug, and multiple coils. Completion angiogram demonstrated no flow into the RAA. The results of longterm follow-up demonstrate that endovascular techniques are safe and effective for the management of RAAs combined with high-flow RAVF.