Relative Contributions of Age and Atherosclerosis to Vascular Stiffness

To determine the relative contributions of aging and atherosclerosis to vascular stiffness, we studied aortic stiffness, plaque, and elastin in 8-, 16-, 25-, and 34-week-old male ApoE-KO and C57BL/6J control mice (N = 48). Stiffness increased gradually in both strains up to 25 weeks (p < 0.05), and dramatically between 25 and 34 weeks in ApoE-KO (p < 0.001). Aging ApoE-KO demonstrated increased plaque (p = 0.02), medial thickening (p < 0.001), and severe elastin fragmentation (p < 0.001). We conclude that the contribution of aging to vascular stiffness is relatively minor compared with the influence of atherosclerosis. However, the effect of atherosclerosis on stiffness is significant only with advanced stages of plaque formation.