Title: Is Impaired Flow-Mediated Dilatation of the Brachial Artery a Cardiovascular Risk Factor?
Volume: 1
Issue: 2
Author(s): Stefan Agewall
Affiliation:
Keywords:
flow-mediated dilatation, brachial artery, cardiovascular risk factor?, flow-mediated vasodilation, hypercholesterolemia, coronary artery disease
Abstract: Endothelial dysfunction is thought to be an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis. Over the past decade, a non-invasive technique has evolved to evaluate flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), an endothelium-dependent function, in the brachial artery. FMD decreases with increasing age and subjects with diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, smokers and hypertension have decreased FMD. There are a few concise studies reporting that FMD predicts cardiovascular events. However, the assumption that focal measurement of brachial artery FMD predicts coronary artery disease deserves further investigation.