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Christopher S Hayward, Audrey Adji, Michael F O’Rourke, Arterial stiffening and arterial dilation as heritable traits caused by defective vital rubber?, European Heart Journal, Volume 39, Issue 24, 21 June 2018, Pages 2289–2290, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehy231
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Extract
This editorial refers to ‘Arterial stiffening is a heritable trait associated with arterial dilation but not wall thickening: a longitudinal study in the twins UK cohort’†, by M. Cecelja et al., on page 2282.
There has been keen interest over the last century in the cause of aortic and large elastic conduit artery degeneration seen from middle age in humans but not apparent in corresponding arteries of laboratory animals at any time of life (but surprisingly a feature of birds; see below). William Osler in Baltimore1 and James Mackenzie in London2 tackled these problems with enthusiasm but without benefits of the cuff sphygmomanometer, which had not yet (∼1900) found its place in clinical medicine. Both concentrated on the elastic media, referred to by Osler as ‘vital rubber’, and which was responsible for the mechanical elastic properties of the aortic and arterial wall.
Osler, a clinician and pathologist, separated arteriosclerosis into three different types: ‘nodular’, ‘diffuse’, and ‘senile’, probably corresponding to atherosclerosis, hypertension, and isolated systolic hypertension, respectively.1 Introduction of the cuff sphygmomanometer subsequently assisted in separation of these groups, with ‘diffuse’ arteriosclerosis having elevation in both systolic and diastolic pressure, ‘senile’ having isolated systolic hypertension only, and atherosclerosis occurring with any blood pressure, and characterized by greater involvement of the intima of the aorta and major arteries.
