[Endothelial function as a marker of pre-clinical atherosclerosis: assessment techniques and clinical implications](466 views) Ruggiero D, Paolillo S, Ratta GD, Mariniello A, Formisano T, Pellegrino AM, Filardi PP
Keywords: Clinical Assessment, Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Left Ventricle Failure, Heart Scintiscanning, Human, Review, Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography, Adult, Aged, Angina Pectoris, Cohort Analysis, Comparative Study, Coronary Artery Blood Flow, Editorial, Electrocardiography, Heart Left Ventricle Function, Heart Muscle Ischemia, Methodology, Middle Aged, Practice Guideline, Prediction And Forecasting, Prevalence, Probability, Prognosis, Sensitivity And Specificity, Systole, Cohort Studies, Coronary Circulation, Coronary Disease, Myocardial Ischemia, Practice Guidelines As Topic, Predictive Value Of Tests, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon, Ventricular Function, Acetylcholine, Diagnostic Use, Atherosclerosis, Physiopathology, Contrast Media, Coronary Angiography, Endothelium, Vascular, Hemodynamics, Laser-Doppler Flowmetry, Magnetic Resonance Angiography, Manometry, Plethysmography, Positron-Emission Tomography, Risk Assessment, Risk Factors, Vasodilator Agents,
Affiliations: *** IBB - CNR ***
Cattedra di Cardiologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica, Università Federico II di Napoli
Via Pansini 5, I-80131 Napoli, Italy
References: Not available.
[Endothelial function as a marker of pre-clinical atherosclerosis: assessment techniques and clinical implications]
Endothelium plays a key role in maintenance of vascular homeostasis. Cardiovascular risk factors promote development of endothelial dysfunction, characterized by increased vasoconstriction and by procoagulant/pro-inflammatory endothelial activities. In coronary artery, endothelium-dependent dilation improves blood flow, while the occurrence of endothelial dysfunction reduces myocardial perfusion, so new methods have been developed for assessment of endothelial function in coronary and peripheral arteries. The quantitative angiography with intracoronary infusion of acetylcholine remains the "gold standard" to assess the endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. The use of this technique is restricted to patients who have a clinical indication for coronary angiography, so new imaging methods have been considered for noninvasive diagnosis of coronary microvascular disease, such as magnetic resonance imaging phase contrast and positron emission tomography. The advent of new techniques has facilitated testing of endothelial dysfunction in peripheral arteries with non-invasive methods. This review presents available in-vivo and ex-vivo methods for evaluating endothelial function with special focus on more recent ones. The diagnostic tools include local vasodilatation by venous occlusion plethysmography and assessment of flow-mediated dilatation, arterial pulse wave analysis and pulse amplitude tonometry, laser Doppler flowmetry. The possibility to detect endothelial dysfunction as an early marker of atherosclerosis makes these instruments useful for early stratification of patients at risk for cardiovascular events. Aim of this review is to summarize the characteristics of non-invasive assessment of endothelial function in order to optimize cardiovascular risk management.
[Endothelial function as a marker of pre-clinical atherosclerosis: assessment techniques and clinical implications]
Antonini A, Vitale C, Barone P, Cilia R, Righini A, Bonuccelli U, Abbruzzese G, Ramat S, Petrone A, Quatrale R, Marconi R, Ceravolo R, Stefani A, Lopiano L, Zappia M, Capus L, Morgante L, Tamma F, Tinazzi M, Colosimo C, Guerra UP, Valzania F, Fagioli G, Distefano A, Bagnato A, Feggi L, Anna S, Maria Teresa Rosaria De Cr, Nobili F, Mazzuca N, Baldari S, Eleopra R, Bestetti A, Benti R, Varrone A, Volterrani D, Massa R, Stocchi F, Schillaci O, Dore F, Zibetti M, Castellano G, Battista SG, Giorgetti G * The relationship between cerebral vascular disease and parkinsonism: The VADO study(609 views) Parkinsonism Relat D (ISSN: 1353-8020, 1873-5126, 1873-5126electronic), 2012; 18(6): 775-780. Impact Factor:3.274 ViewExport to BibTeXExport to EndNote