Background:Aortic stiffness is an independent risk factor for the cardiovascular(CV) events and mortality.However,the predictive role of aortic stiffness has not been addressed in Korean patients so far.To determine the association between aortic PWV and future CV events and mortality,we studied a 1,004 pts undergone coronary angiography because of chest pain.Method:Aorto-femoral PWV(afPWV) was obtained by catheterization invasively in all subjects at baseline .Among them,341 pts were excluded because of F/U loss(31pts) and short F/U duration(<12months:310pts).We reviewed medical records,and phone survey was done about CV events and current status:causes of death, coronary artery disease (CAD),stroke,and CHF.Results:Total 663pts(327men,Mean age 60.3짹10.2yrs at entry) were followed-up more than 12 months upto 70 months and were studied.The diagnosis on initial presentation was as follows:stable or unstable angina 317,AMI 28,variant angina 44,stroke 9,peripheral vascular disease 4,no CV disease 233, and others 28.Underlying illness was as follows:HTN 368,diabetes118.During an average follow-up of 35.1짹15.9months,7 deaths(5 cardiovascular origin and 2 cancer origin) and 173 CV events(fatal MI 1,non-fatal MI 5,stable or unstable angina 118,revascularization 28,stroke 37,CHF 16) occurred.Results was presented by afPWV tertiles.The higher afPWV was,the more CV events in chi-square analysis(p=0.004).afPWV was associated with CV events in unadjusted logistic regression analysis(table).In multivariate logistic regression analysis,after adjustment for other CV risk factors,afPWV was associated with CV events(table).However,afPWV was not associated with all cause(p=0.881)and cardiovascular mortality(p=0.427).Conclusion:Our findings suggest that afPWV is strong risk factor for the further CV events in patients with chest pain.