A NOVEL METHOD FOR ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION ASSESSMENT WITH FINGER ARTERIAL PULSE VOLUME

Abstract

Currently, several methods have been developed to assess peripheral endothelial function. We evaluated the potential value of reactive hyperemia peripheral arterial volume (RH-PAV) in patients with stable angina. We used a novel oximeter-like probe to detect the peripheral arterial volume (PAV) of the finger, and compared with brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) performed simultaneously in 93 consecutive patients with stable angina. The hyperemia PAV index was defined as the ratio of the digital pulse volume during reactive hyperemia relative to the baseline. 93 patients (53 men) with an average age of 58±5 years completed the study, and 53 patients demonstrated coronary artery disease (CAD) after scheduled coronary angiography. There was a linear relationship between the hyperemia PAV index and FMD (r=0.69, p < 0.01). Similar to FMD, PAV was more impaired in patients with more cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs). The subjects with CAD had lower PAV index (1.05±0.23) and FMD (6.7%±2.9%) compared with those without CAD (PAT 1.41±0.37, FMD 10.4%±2.9%; P < 0.01 for both), and the relationship between FMD and PAV is also significant in both CAD (r=0.54, p < 0.01) and non-CAD (r=0.62, p < 0.01) patients. Endothelial function of digital artery assessed with the novel PAV method demonstrated a profile similar to that of brachial artery measured with FMD. The hyperemia PAV index was influenced by factors known to affect endothelial function, including CRFs and CAD, suggesting a role for PAV as a novel noninvasive test to study endothelial function.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)