Brachial artery vasoreactivity is associated with cross-sectional and longitudinal anatomical measures of atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease.
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 (beta=-1.21% [S.E.(beta)=0.38], p=0.002). BFMD levels significantly predicted rate of change in CIMT over the trial period (beta=-0.76 microm/year [S.E.(beta)=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.
Gatto
Nicole M
NM
University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9010, United States.
Hodis
Howard N
HN
Liu
Chao-Ran
CR
Liu
Chi-Hua
CH
Mack
Wendy J
WJ
D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D003326:Coronary Circulation; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography