Study finds lifestyle factors that could harden arteries

A new study from the University of Georgia pinpoints lifestyle factors that could lead to hardened arteries. One of the largest of its kind, the study performed an untargeted metabolomics profile of over 1,200 participants of the Bogalusa Heart Study to identify metabolites linked to the hardening of arteries. Hardening arteries, or arterial stiffness, is an independent risk factor for heart disease and death, and the mechanisms that contribute to arterial stiffening are not well understood. That's where metabolomics can help pull back the curtain on how and when arterial stiffness begins to occur.