title: Changing vasomotor responses of coronary arteries to nifedipine.
abstract: Coronary vasomotion is influenced by a variety of factors, including atherosclerosis and diurnal variations in alpha-adrenergic tone. The effect of such factors on the coronary response to vasodilator drugs is unknown. To determine whether there is a diurnal variation to the response of coronary arteries to nifedipine, and whether this response is altered by atherosclerosis, we studied 11 patients with smooth coronary arteries, six in the morning and five in the afternoon, and 12 patients with irregular coronary arteries, six in the morning and six in the afternoon. Changes in coronary blood flow and the vasomotor response of an epicardial coronary artery were measured before and after a 2 mg intracoronary infusion of nifedipine. There were no appreciable differences in epicardial vessel dilator response or coronary blood flow in the morning and afternoon among patients with smooth coronary arteries. By contrast, patients with irregular coronary arteries had a significantly diminished dilator response in the afternoon, without an appreciable change in coronary blood flow. We postulate that normal coronary arteries maintain basal tone throughout the day. By contrast, atherosclerotic coronary arteries cannot do the same, increasing tone in the morning in response to catecholamines. When catecholamine levels drop in the afternoon, basal tone decreases in atherosclerotic vessels, and the dilator response to nifedipine is blunted. This observation may have an important impact on the expected benefits and timing of vasodilator therapy in patients with coronary artery disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Raby
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vita
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rocco
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ganz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fantasia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Selwyn
mesh_terms: D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014666:Vasomotor System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009543:Nifedipine