title: [The altered endothelial function in patients with arterial hypertension and different forms of atrial fibrillation].
abstract: The role of endothelial function in the development of cardiovascular diseases has recently attracted attention of many researchers due to increasingly more data suggesting the relationship between endothelial dysfunction (ED) and disturbed cardiac rhythms including atrial fibrillation (AF). ED is known to precede lesions in target organs related to arterial hypertension (AH) which makes the study of endothelial function as an early marker of vascular lesions in AH and AF a topical issue.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study changes of endothelial function in patients with AH and AF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Group 1 included 84 patients with AH (inclusion criteria: essential AH and confirmed paroxysm of AF), group 2 contained 20 patients with AH and permanent AF, control group was comprised of 30 AH patients without AF. The vasomotor function of endothelium was evaluated from reactive hyperemia determined by the ultrasonic method, blood samples for biochemical analysis and determination of Willebrand factor (WF) were taken during fasting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients of group 2 showed significant changes of endothelium-dependent vasodilation of the brachial artery. Its diameter within 60 sec after decompression increased by 5.8 +/- 0.9% and 12.3 +/- 1.2% in groups 1 and 3 respectively (p < 0.05). In group 2, collagen-binding activity of WF increased significantly to 1500 +/-140 U/100 ml compared with 1060 +/- 120 and 840 +/- 110 in groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with AH and persistent AF had altered endothelial function in the form of significant decrease of endothelium-dependent vasodilation of the brachial artery and increase of collagen-binding activity of WF.
authors.forename: V I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Podzolkov
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Tarzimanova
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Mokhammadi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged