title: Noninvasive assessment of endothelial function: the classic methods and the new peripheral arterial tonometry.
abstract: The combination of risk stratification by assessment of conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) with not only a morphological assessment of vascular damage (such as carotid ultrasound examination) but also vascular function tests may be a useful strategy for the management of CVD and its related risk factors. Endothelial dysfunction is present in a great variety of pathological conditions: it is considered the first alteration of vascular function in atherosclerosis and one of the phenomena involved in the progression of heart failure. Assessing endothelial function with noninvasive methods could have a central role for evaluation of treatment, prognostic stratification, and pharmacological studies in CVD. In this review, we focus on noninvasive techniques that have recently become available to assess endothelial function and express the possible clinical role in different clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: From the Section of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Study of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vizzardi
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gavazzoni
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Della Pina
authors.forename: Ivano
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bonadei
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Regazzoni
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sciatti
authors.forename: Eleftheria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trichaki
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raddino
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008365:Manometry / Q000639:trends; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000502:physiology; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*