title: Lack of correlation between coronary flow reserve and vascular remodelling in hypertensive patients without left ventricular hypertrophy: an optical coherence tomography study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between coronary flow reserve (CFR), coronary intima thickness (IT), and intima-media thickness (IMT) in hypertensive patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen consecutive, never-treated hypertensives (mean age 59.7 years, 6 men), without left ventricular hypertrophy and with angiographically normal coronary arteries, underwent CFR measurement in the left anterior descending artery in response to a bolus intracoronary administration of adenosine, together with an optical coherence tomography (OCT) study for the estimation of IT and IMT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hypertensive patients with a low CFR (2.5, n=5) compared to those with a normal CFR (>2.5, n=8) exhibited significantly greater aortic pulse pressure (79.2 vs. 59.4 mmHg, p=0.01), while there was no difference with respect to age, sex, or left ventricular mass index (p=NS). Moreover, no difference was found between patients with low and normal CFR as regards maximal IT and IMT, or mean IT and IMT (p=NS for all). In the entire population, CFR exhibited no relationship with IT and IMT (p=NS). Finally, hypertensives with a low CFR compared to those with a normal CFR exhibited a trend towards a smaller left anterior descending area (7.8 vs. 9.5 mm(2), p=0.24).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In hypertensive patients without left ventricular hypertrophy, adverse functional microcirculatory changes assessed by CFR are not accompanied by OCT-estimated alterations in coronary IT and IMT.
authors.affiliation: First Cardiology Clinic, University of Athens, Hippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece. ktsioufis@hippocratio.gr
authors.forename: Costas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsioufis
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Latsios
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsiachris
authors.forename: Kyriakos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dimitriadis
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roussos
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kallikazaros
authors.forename: Christodoulos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanadis
mesh_terms: D003326:Coronary Circulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000473:pathology*; D017540:Tunica Media / Q000473:pathology*