Atherosclerotic involvement of the radial artery in patients with coronary artery disease and its relation with midterm radial artery graft patency and endothelial function

Background: The radial artery has recently been proposed as an alternative arterial conduit for surgical myocardial revascularization. This study was conceived to evaluate the degree of atherosclerotic involvement of the radial artery in patients with coronary artery disease and the eventual influence of a subtle degree of preoperative atherosclerosis on the midterm results of radial artery grafts. Methods and Results: The intima-media thickness of the radial artery, common carotid artery, and internal thoracic artery was evaluated in 42 coronary artery disease patients and in 26 control patients. All radial arteries were then used for myocardial revascularization; 30 patients submitted to control angiography after 5 years. The mean intima-media thickness was 0.92+/-0.22 mm for the common carotid artery, 0.54+/-0.16 mm for the internal thoracic artery, 0.55+/-0.11 mm for the radial artery in coronary artery disease patients versus 0.79+/-0.14 mm, 0.52+/-0.11 mm, and 0.56+/-0.09 mm, respectively, in control patients (P=.001 only for the common carotid artery). No correlation was found between the intima-media thickness of the carotid, internal thoracic, and radial artery. No correlation was found between the preoperative intima-media thickness of the radial artery and the midterm patency and endothelial-mediated vasodilating capacity of radial artery grafts. Conclusion: In coronary artery disease patients, radial artery atherosclerotic involvement is more frequent than that of the gold standard internal thoracic artery but still by far less severe than that of the common carotid artery. The early atherosclerotic signs often observed in the radial artery do not seem to have the potential to influence radial artery graft patency and endothelial function.