Shogo Matsui1, Masato Kajikawa2, Tatsuya Maruhashi1, Haruki Hashimoto1, Yasuki Kihara1, Kazuaki Chayama3, Chikara Goto4, Yoshiki Aibara5, Farina Mohamad Yusoff5, Shinji Kishimoto5, Ayumu Nakashima5, Kensuke Noma6, Tomohiro Kawaguchi7, Takeo Matsumoto7, Yukihito Higashi8. 1. Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. 2. Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan. 3. Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. 4. Department of Physical Therapy, Hiroshima International University, Hiroshima, Japan. 5. Department of Cardiovascular Regeneration and Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. 6. Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Regeneration and Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. 7. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya, Japan. 8. Division of Regeneration and Medicine, Medical Center for Translational and Clinical Research, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan; Department of Cardiovascular Regeneration and Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. Electronic address: yhigashi@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Measurement of flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) is an established method for assessing endothelial function. Measurement of FMD is useful for showing the relationship between atherosclerosis and endothelial function, mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction, and clinical implications including effects of interventions and cardiovascular events. To shorten and simplify the measurement of FMD, we have developed a novel technique named short time FMD (stFMD). We investigated the validity of stFMD for assessment of endothelial function compared with conventional FMD. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated stFMD and conventional FMD in 82 subjects including patients with atherosclerotic risk factors and cardiovascular disease (66 men and 16 women, 57 ± 16 years). Both stFMD and conventional FMD were significantly correlated with age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and baseline brachial artery diameter. In addition, stFMD was significantly correlated with conventional FMD (r = 0.76, P < 0.001). Bland-Altman plot analysis showed good agreement b etween stFMD and conventional FMD. Moreover, stFMD in the at risk group and that in the cardiovascular disease group were significantly lower than that in the no risk group (4.6 ± 2.3% and 4.4 ± 2.2% vs. 7.3 ± 1.9%, P < 0.001, respectively). Optimal cutoff value of stFMD for diagnosing atherosclerosis was 7.0% (sensitivity of 71.0% and specificity of 85.0%). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that measurement of stFMD, a novel and simple method, is useful for assessing endothelial function. Measurement of stFMD may be suitable for screening of atherosclerosis when repeated measurements of vascular function are required and when performing a clinical trial using a large population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: URL for Clinical Trial: http://UMIN; Registration Number for Clinical Trial: UMIN000025458.
BACKGROUND: Measurement of flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) is an established method for assessing endothelial function. Measurement of FMD is useful for showing the relationship between atherosclerosis and endothelial function, mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction, and clinical implications including effects of interventions and cardiovascular events. To shorten and simplify the measurement of FMD, we have developed a novel technique named short time FMD (stFMD). We investigated the validity of stFMD for assessment of endothelial function compared with conventional FMD. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated stFMD and conventional FMD in 82 subjects including patients with atherosclerotic risk factors and cardiovascular disease (66 men and 16 women, 57 ± 16 years). Both stFMD and conventional FMD were significantly correlated with age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and baseline brachial artery diameter. In addition, stFMD was significantly correlated with conventional FMD (r = 0.76, P < 0.001). Bland-Altman plot analysis showed good agreement b etween stFMD and conventional FMD. Moreover, stFMD in the at risk group and that in the cardiovascular disease group were significantly lower than that in the no risk group (4.6 ± 2.3% and 4.4 ± 2.2% vs. 7.3 ± 1.9%, P < 0.001, respectively). Optimal cutoff value of stFMD for diagnosing atherosclerosis was 7.0% (sensitivity of 71.0% and specificity of 85.0%). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that measurement of stFMD, a novel and simple method, is useful for assessing endothelial function. Measurement of stFMD may be suitable for screening of atherosclerosis when repeated measurements of vascular function are required and when performing a clinical trial using a large population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: URL for Clinical Trial: http://UMIN; Registration Number for Clinical Trial: UMIN000025458.