Arterial pressure in the central region (e.g., aorta and carotid
artery) is mainly composed of the incident wave from the heart and
the reflected wave from the periphery. Age-related aortic stiffening
and impaired endothelial function may result in the early return
(in late systole) of the augmented reflection wave from the
periphery, and thereby increase LV afterload [20]. An increase in LV
afterload potentiates a corresponding increase in LV mass, which is
an independent risk for heart failure and coronary heart disease
mortality; therefore, central arterial hemodynamics has emerged
as an important factor underlying the pathophysiology of
cardiovascular disease [21–23].