Relationships between carotid,femoral artery intima-media thickness and endothelial dilated function in patients with coronary artery disease

Objective To explore the relationships between carotid, femoral artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods 105 patients were divided into normal group (n=29) and coronary heart disease (CHD) group (n=76)according to the results of coronary angiography. The brachial artery FMD as well as the carotid and femoral IMT were measured by high-resolution ultrasound. Results As compared to normal group, brachial artery FMD was significantly lower and IMT of the carotid and femoral were significantly higher in CHD group (P 0.01). There were significant differences in brachial artery FMD and IMT of the carotid and femoral between one-vessel and multi-vessel stenosis groups (P 0.01). The revised Gensini score was positively related to carotid and femoral IMT and was negatively related to brachial artery FMD (P 0.000 1). Conclusion Carotid and femoral IMT and brachial artery FMD are related to coronary heart disease. Both of the detection of brachial artery FMD and IMT of carotid and femoral by ultrasound can provide evidence for discovering, treating, and prognosticating CHD.