A cross-sectional study revealed diminished EPC populations in AS patients independent of traditional CVD risk factors (e.g., smoking, hypertension), suggesting that intrinsic inflammatory pathways—elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin- 6 (IL- 6), and interleukin- 1 (IL- 1)—drive CVD risk independently [62]. Here, TNF is linked to hypertensive disorder.