Abstract
Background Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of hospitalization and death in industrialized countries. CHF is frequently associated with humoral and metabolic disturbances, including reduced bioavailability of the important signalling molecule nitric oxide (NO), which has vasodilating properties. Several studies reported high plasma levels of asymmetrical NG, NG-dimethyl-L-arginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of NO production, in CHF, contributing to endothelial dysfunction. The Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (DVA) enables dynamic analyses of retinal vessels. NO is a mediator of retinal vasodilator response to flicker light. Reduced response of retinal arterioles to flicker light may be an attractive technique to non-invasively assess endothelial dysfunction. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that retinal vessel response to flicker light is reduced in patients with CHF and correlates inversely with serum ADMA levels.
Highlights
Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the leading cause of hospitalization and death in industrialized countries
nitric oxide (NO) is a mediator of retinal vasodilator response to flicker light
The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that retinal vessel response to flicker light is reduced in patients with CHF and correlates inversely with serum ADMA levels
Summary
Dynamic Vessel Analyzer (DVA) – a new method to detect endothelial dysfunction in chronic heart failure: correlation between DVA and asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA). Markus Schwefer1*, Aleksandra Mandecka, Helen Schmicker-Helf, Andreas Brückmann, Thomas Lehmann, Ingeburg Schauer, Frank Kramer, Marcus Blum, Harald Lapp. From 5th International Conference on cGMP: Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications Halle, Germany. From 5th International Conference on cGMP: Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications Halle, Germany. 24-26 June 2011
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