Study sets artery stiffness benchmarks for Chinese adults
Lower and upper reference limits were 4.27 and 7.57 metres per second at ages 18 to 29, versus 6.05 and 14.69 at 70 or older.
Multicentre
Researchers prospectively recruited 3,328 healthy Chinese adults at 29 centres for an observational study of artery stiffness. Their average age was 45.7 years. They used a standardised ultrasound method to measure the speed of a pulse travelling between arteries in the neck and groin. This measure indicates stiffness of the aorta, the body's main artery.
The team established reference values by age decade and blood pressure category. The age-specific lower and upper limits were the fifth and 95th percentiles, meaning 5% and 95% of measurements fell below them, respectively. Both limits were higher in older age groups.
Why it matters
Aortic stiffness predicts cardiovascular disease, so interpreting this measure across adulthood matters for assessing risk. The researchers said the reference values could support wider use of stiffness assessment in routine care in China.
Caveats
This observational study did not test whether using the reference values improved clinical care. The values came from healthy Chinese adults assessed with one standardised measurement protocol.
The paper
Tangdu Hospital
Journal of Hypertension, 12 Oct 2026
