Study of the endothelium:dependent vasodilation function in patients with coronary heart disease

Objective To evaluate the impairment of the flow mediated endothelium dependent vasodilatation (FMD) of brachial artery in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) using B mode high resolution ultrasonography. Methods Angiography revealed CAD (≥50% diameter stenosis) in 50 patients (CAD group) and normal coronary arteries in 58 patients (non CAD group). Vasodilatation following reactive hyperemia and after sublingual nitroglycerin were assessed in the brachial artery using B mode high resolution ultrasonography. The difference of risk factors between the two groups was compared. Results CAD patients showed markedly impaired FMD comparing to the non CAD group (5.39%±4.47% vs 18.55%±7.31%, P 0.01). Nitroglycerin induced similar degree of vasodilatation in the two groups. There were significant difference in the number of risk factors, levels of TG and LDL cholesterol, and cigarette smoking between the two groups. Conclusion The study indicates that the impairment of FMD in the brachial artery, a marker of systemic endothelial function, is closely related to CAD. B mode high resolution ultrasonography can be used in evaluating coronary endothelial function non invasively.