Vascular endothelial dysfunction is associated with reversible myocardial perfusion defects in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether endothelial dysfunction contributes to abnormal myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) observed in patients without obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). It is unclear whether reversible MPI defects detected in the absence of obstructive CAD represent underlying vascular pathology or are false-positive MPI results. Recent evidence suggests that coronary endothelial dysfunction might play a role in the pathogenesis of these defects.

Evaluation of peripheral vascular endothelial function with a portable ultrasound device.

Endothelial function can be assessed noninvasively by imaging the brachial artery with ultrasound before and during reactive hyperemia. However, the standard ultrasound equipment typically used for this purpose is limited by size and expense of the machinery. In this study, we compared the ability of a portable ultrasound device to standard ultrasound equipment to visualize the brachial artery for purposes of assessing peripheral vascular endothelial function.