The Pulse Goes On: A Peek into Vascular Health at NUS Staff

We often think of age as a number tied to our birthdays, but inside our bodies, things can tell a different story. Vascular age refers to the condition of our blood vessels compared to what’s typical for someone our age. It’s a powerful concept because it reflects the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other health issues more accurately than age alone. Arterial stiffness, an indicator of how flexible or young the blood vessels are, and blood pressure, are two key determinants of vascular age.

To take a closer look at how flexible—or “young”—the arteries of NUS staff are, we measured blood pressure and arterial stiffness in participants of the NUS1000 Staff Edition Study using a device called a tonometer. (Tonometry was done during the onboarding session—remember the pen-like probe placed on your neck?)

What Did We Find?

As expected, arterial stiffness, measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), increased with age.

In older persons with stiffer arteries, the pulse wave travels faster through the arteries, from the neck (carotid artery) to the leg (femoral artery). However, there was also considerable variation among participants, even within the same age groups. For example, some individuals in the lower range of the 50–59 years age group had lower arterial stiffness (lower pulse wave velocity) than those at the higher end of the 20–29 years age group.

Each dot represents a participant. Horizontal lines show the group median.

Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure (BP) increased with age, but …

The upward trend was less pronounced for blood pressure compared to arterial stiffness, especially after age 50. However, starting from 30 years onward, the number of participants with high blood pressure (above 140 mmHg systolic and 90 mmHg diastolic) increased.

Each dot represents a participant. Horizontal lines show the group median.

Each dot represents a participant. Horizontal lines show the group median.

Participants with elevated blood pressure tended to have higher arterial stiffness levels

Blood pressure is one of the most familiar indicators of heart health, and it’s closely linked to arterial stiffness. This relationship isn’t surprising: when arteries become stiffer, they lose their ability to absorb the force of each heartbeat, causing pressure to rise. As can be seen from the 2 plots below, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased with the increased arterial stiffness. You can also see more warm-coloured dots in the top half of the plot than in the bottom half, confirming what we saw earlier: arterial stiffness tends to increase with age in most people, though not in everyone.

Each dot represents a participant.

Each dot represents a participant.

Managing blood pressure through lifestyle or medication doesn’t just protect the heart—it can also help maintain more flexible, healthier arteries over time.  As the saying goes, you’re only as old as your arteries. Remember, it’s never too early, or too late, to take charge of your cardiovascular health.