Skin blood flow and its oscillatory components in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
OBJECTIVE
Laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to determine the influence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and of successful reperfusion treatment on basal skin blood flow and its oscillatory components.


METHODS
Skin LDF was performed on all extremities in 58 patients 4-9 days after AMI (Killip class I), and in 71 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Wavelet analysis was applied to evaluate oscillatory components within the interval 0.005-2 Hz.


RESULTS
AMI patients had reduced mean flow (p < 0.01) and oscillatory components (p < 0.04) in all extremities. Reperfused (n = 40), compared to nonreperfused (n = 18), patients had higher mean flow and total spectral amplitude at all recording points. The difference was statistically significant only in legs (group median LDF in the left leg was 9.68 AU for reperfused and 5.71 AU for nonreperfused patients, p < 0.04, and 11.47 and 4.24 AU in the right leg, p < 0.01). Reperfused patients had significantly higher total spectral amplitude in both legs (p < 0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
In AMI patients, reduced skin blood flow and its oscillatory components may reflect ongoing neurohumoral activation despite absence of clinically apparent heart failure. The reduction of blood flow and its oscillatory components was larger in nonreperfused AMI patients, although they had a comparable left ventricular function.
Azman-Juvan
Katja
K
Department of Intensive Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. katja.azman@kclj.si
Bernjak
Alan
A
Urbancic-Rovan
Vilma
V
Stefanovska
Aneta
A
Stajer
Dusan
D
D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017078:Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left