Brachial artery constriction during brachial artery reactivity testing predicts major adverse clinical outcomes in women with suspected myocardial ischemia: results from the NHLBI-sponsored women's ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) Study.
BACKGROUND
Limited brachial artery (BA) flow-mediated dilation during brachial artery reactivity testing (BART) has been linked to increased cardiovascular risk. We report on the phenomenon of BA constriction (BAC) following hyperemia.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether BAC predicts adverse CV outcomes and/or mortality in the women's ischemic Syndrome Evaluation Study (WISE). Further, as a secondary objective we sought to determine the risk factors associated with BAC.


METHODS
We performed BART on 377 women with chest pain referred for coronary angiography and followed for a median of 9.5 years. Forearm ischemia was induced with 4 minutes occlusion by a cuff placed distal to the BA and inflated to 40mm Hg > systolic pressure. BAC was defined as >4.8% artery constriction following release of the cuff. The main outcome was major adverse events (MACE) including all-cause mortality, non-fatal MI, non-fatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure.


RESULTS
BA diameter change ranged from -20.6% to +44.9%, and 41 (11%) women experienced BAC. Obstructive CAD and traditional CAD risk factors were not predictive of BAC. Overall, 39% of women with BAC experienced MACE vs. 22% without BAC (p=0.004). In multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression, BAC was a significant independent predictor of MACE (p=0.018) when adjusting for obstructive CAD and traditional risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
BAC predicts almost double the risk for major adverse events compared to patients without BAC. This risk was not accounted for by CAD or traditional risk factors. The novel risk marker of BAC requires further investigation in women.
Department of Medicine, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Tara L
TL
Sedlak
B Delia
BD
Johnson
Carl J
CJ
Pepine
Steven E
SE
Reis
C Noel
CN
Bairey Merz
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D054555:National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.); D005996:Nitroglycerin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013577:Syndrome; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
D005996:Nitroglycerin