Comparison of arterial stiffness and microcirculatory changes following abdominal aortic aneurysm grafting

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of arterial stiffness on central haemodynamics, reflected in augmentation index (AI). The aneurysmal aorta is significantly stiffer than undilated age-matched aorta. We investigated whether replacement of an aneurysmal aorta with a compliant graft would result in a decrease in AI, which would thus decrease myocardial workload parameters. Patients undergoing...