Association Between Intra-arterial Invasive Central and Peripheral Blood Pressure and Endothelial Function (Assessed by Flow-Mediated Dilatation) in Stable Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND Endothelial function is an independent predictor of coronary artery disease (CAD) and is regulated by a number of factors, including blood pressure. OBJECTIVES The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that intra-arterial invasive central blood pressure is strongly associated with endothelial function in patients with CAD. METHODS In patient with CAD (diameter stenosis >= 30%), invasive central (aortic) and left peripheral (brachial) blood pressures were determined during transradial coronary angiography. The endothelial function was evaluated by way of flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery. RESULTS We enrolled 413 consecutive patients. There were 260 patients with significant CAD (sCAD, diameter stenosis >= 50%) and 153 patients with nonsignificant CAD (nsCAD, diameter stenosis <50% and <= 30%). FMD was significantly and inversely correlated with central and peripheral parameters in terms of systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure (PP) (r = -0.332, r = -0.184, and r = -0.407, respectively, all P < 0.001) and (r = -0.303, r = -0.190, and r = -0.319, respectively, all P < 0.001). Compared with sCAD, there was closer correlation between central PP with FMD in nsCAD (r = -0.548 vs. r = -0.345, both P < 0.001). After adjusting potential confounders such as age, body mass index and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, multivariate analysis showed that FMD remained independently associated with central PP, degree of coronary artery stenosis, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in all patients. In patients with nsCAD, the multivariate analysis showed that only central PP was independently correlated with FMD. CONCLUSIONS In patients with stable CAD, a decline in endothelial function is most closely associated with invasive central pulse pressure.