Comparison of endothelial function evaluated by strain gauge plethysmography and brachial artery ultrasound

Strain gauge plethysmography and brachial artery ultrasound are widely used to study endothelial function. No data on correlation between these two procedures are reported. The present study compared these two methods and investigated the correlation between vasodilation and brachial wall shear stre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Atherosclerosis Vol. 158; no. 1; pp. 53 - 59
Main Authors:	Irace, Concetta, Ceravolo, Roberto, Notarangelo, Libero, Crescenzo, Anna, Ventura, Giorgio, Tamburrini, Oscar, Perticone, Francesco, Gnasso, Agostino
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01-09-2001 Elsevier
Subjects:	Acetylcholine Acetylcholine - pharmacology Adult Biological and medical sciences Biomechanical Phenomena Blood Flow Velocity Blood Viscosity Brachial Artery - diagnostic imaging Cardiovascular system Endothelium, Vascular - physiology Endothelium, Vascular - physiopathology Forearm - blood supply Hemodynamics Humans Hypertension Hypertension - physiopathology Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects) Male Medical sciences Middle Aged Obesity - physiopathology Plethysmography Ultrasonic investigative techniques Ultrasonography, Doppler Ultrasound Vasoconstriction/dilation Vasodilation - drug effects Vasodilator Agents - pharmacology Hypertension Acetylcholine Hemodynamics Ultrasound Vasoconstriction/dilation Sonography Vascular disease Human Brachial artery Atherosclerosis Echography Cardiovascular disease Exploration Technique Arm Comparative study Plethysmography
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Summary:	Strain gauge plethysmography and brachial artery ultrasound are widely used to study endothelial function. No data on correlation between these two procedures are reported. The present study compared these two methods and investigated the correlation between vasodilation and brachial wall shear stress. In six healthy subjects and ten patients with hypertension or obesity, strain gauge plethysmography was performed in resting conditions and after infusion of 7.5, 15 and 30 μg/min of acetylcholine, and brachial artery ultrasound in resting conditions and after 5 min hand ischemia. Wall shear stress was calculated as: blood viscosity×blood velocity/internal diameter. Forearm blood flow following acetylcholine infusion increased more in healthy subjects than in patients with hypertension or obesity. In addition, brachial artery dilated more in the former group. Change in brachial artery diameter correlated with change in forearm blood flow, calculated as area under the curve of acetylcholine infusion ( r=0.739, P<0.001). Wall shear stress was higher in healthy subjects (67.8±20.0 dynes/cm 2) than in patients with either hypertension or obesity (39.2±16.7, P<0.001), and correlated with variations of diameter ( r=0.796, P<0.0002), and marginally of blood flow ( r=0.516, P<0.05). The present findings demonstrate that there is a high correlation between endothelial function evaluated by strain gauge plethysmography and brachial artery ultrasound. Wall shear stress correlates with brachial artery diameter change following hand ischemia, and marginally with blood flow change following acetylcholine infusion.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0021-9150 1879-1484
DOI:	10.1016/S0021-9150(01)00406-3