Brachial artery vasoreactivity is associated with cross-sectional and longitudinal anatomical measures of atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease

• Published in: Atherosclerosis Vol. 196; no. 2; pp. 674 - 681
• Main Authors: Gatto, Nicole M, Hodis, Howard N, Liu, Chao-Ran, Liu, Chi-Hua, Mack, Wendy J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.02.2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Angiography; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis (general aspects, experimental research); Atherosclerosis - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood Flow Velocity; Brachial Artery - pathology; Brachial Artery - physiopathology; Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular; Cardiovascular disease; Carotid Arteries - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Angiography; Coronary artery; Coronary Artery Disease - pathology; Coronary Circulation; Coronary heart disease; Coronary Stenosis - physiopathology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Endothelial function; Female; Heart; Humans; Longitudinal; Longitudinal Studies; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Postmenopausal women; Postmenopause; Tunica Intima - pathology; Ultrasonography; Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation; Longitudinal; Angiography; Atherosclerosis; Coronary artery; Cardiovascular disease; Postmenopausal women; Endothelial function; Vascular disease; Human; Brachial artery; Coronary heart disease; Post- menopausal women
• ISSN: 0021-9150; 1879-1484
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2007.07.015

Abstract Background The diagnostic and prognostic importance of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (BFMD) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not certain and associations between BFMD and recognized measures of atherosclerosis have not been well established. Methods We investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations between repeated measures of BFMD and quantitative coronary artery angiographic (QCA) measurements of average percent diameter stenosis, number of lesions and minimum luminal diameter (MLD), and ultrasonographic measurement of carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) in an ethnically diverse cohort of postmenopausal women ( n = 132) with coronary artery disease (CAD). Subjects were participants in a 3-year randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, testing the efficacy of hormone therapy on atherosclerosis progression. Associations between BFMD and QCA measures, and between BFMD and CIMT were examined using measurements from the same study visit. Results BFMD was significantly inversely correlated with coronary artery stenosis at baseline ( β = −1.21% [S.E.( β ) = 0.38], p = 0.002). BFMD levels significantly predicted rate of change in CIMT over the trial period ( β = −0.76 μm/year [S.E.( β ) = 0.29], p = 0.008). Conclusions Physiological and anatomical measures of atherosclerosis are correlated among postmenopausal women with CAD, which provides some validation of BFMD as a measure of atherosclerosis in high-risk populations.