Common carotid intima-media thickness is correlated with myocardial flow reserve in patients with coronary artery disease: a useful non-invasive indicator of coronary atherosclerosis.

Background: The common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is correlated with the angiographically determined coronary artery stenosis. However, their correlation is weak, which limits the clinical application of the IMT as a predictor of coronary artery stenosis. The IMT reflects diffuse early-phase atherosclerosis, whereas the angiographically determined coronary artery stenosis is a late-phase phenomenon.

Reduced myocardial flow reserve in anatomically normal coronary arteries due to elevated baseline myocardial blood flow in men with old myocardial infarction.

Background: Decreased myocardial flow reserve (MFR) in angiographically normal coronary arteries in patients with old myocardial infarction (OMI) has been reported.

Methods And Results: To clarify factors for the reduced MFR in OMI and to compare them with those in angina pectoris (AP), baseline myocardial blood flow (MBF) and MBF during dipyridamole administration were measured with nitrogen 13 ammonia positron emission tomography, after which MFR was calculated for 13 men with AP, 18 men with OMI, and 15 age-matched male control subjects. MFR was compared among the 3 groups in segments perfused by nonstenotic arteries.