Affiliations: [a] Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas e Experimentais em Biologia Vascular, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| [b] Departamento de Cardiologia, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil
| [c] Diagnósticos da América/DASA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| [d] Departamento de Medicina Interna, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil
| [e] Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde (CINTESIS), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Maria das Graças Coelho de Souza, Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas e Experimentais em Biologia Vascular, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Tel.: +55 21 2334 0703; Fax: +55 21 2334 0692; E-mail: mgcsouza@gmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:In patients with ischemia and no obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA), coronary microvascular dysfunction is associated with higher rate of major adverse cardiovascular events. OBJECTIVE:To demonstrate if microvascular dysfunction present in coronary microcirculation of patients with INOCA may be detected noninvasively in their peripheral circulation. METHODS:25 patients with INOCA and 25 apparently healthy individuals (controls) were subjected to nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC) and venous occlusion plethysmography (VOP) to evaluate peripheral microvascular function and blood collection for biomarkers analysis, including soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), endothelin-1 (ET-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS:Red blood cell velocity (RBCV) before and after ischemia (RBCVmax) were significantly lower in patients with INOCA (p = 0.0001). Time to reach maximal red blood cell velocity (TRBCVmax) was significantly longer in INOCA group (p = 0.0004). Concerning VOP, maximal blood flow (p = 0.004) and its relative increment were significantly lower in patients with INOCA (p = 0.0004). RBCVmax showed significant correlations with sVCAM-1 (r = –0.38, p < 0.05), ET-1 (r = –0.73, p < 0.05) and CRP (r = –0.33, p < 0.05). Relative increment of maximal post-ischemic blood flow was significantly correlated with sVCAM-1 (r = –0.42, p < 0.05) and ET-1 (r = –0.48, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:The impairment of microvascular function present in coronary microcirculation of patients with INOCA can be also detected in peripheral microcirculation.
Keywords: Ischemia and no obstructive coronary artery disease, microvascular dysfunction, nailfold videocapillaroscopy, venous occlusion plethysmography
