Background: Long-term intake of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is associated with a low risk for cardiovascular disease. Phase-contrast cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance (PC cine CMR) can assess coronary flow reserve (CFR). The present study investigates the relationship between CFR evaluated by PC cine CMR and the serum EPA.
Methods: We studied 127 patients (male, 116 (91%); mean age, 72.2 ± 7.4 years) with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). X-ray coronary angiography revealed no significant coronary arterial stenoses (defined as luminal diameter reduction ≥ 50% on quantitative coronary angiogram (QCA) analysis) in all study participants. Breath-hold PC cine CMR images of the coronary sinus (CS) were acquired to assess blood flow of the CS both at rest and during adenosine triphosphate (ATP) infusion. We calculated CFR as CS blood flow during ATP infusion divided by that at rest. Patients were allocated to groups according to whether they had high (n = 64, EPA ≥ 75.8 μg/mL) or low (n = 63, EPA < 75.8 μg/mL) median serum EPA.
Results: CFR was significantly lower in the low, than in the high EPA group (2.54 ± 1.00 vs. 2.91 ± 0.98, p = 0.038). Serum EPA positively correlated with CFR (R = 0.35, p < 0.001). We defined preserved CFR as > 2.5, which is the previously reported lower limit of normal flow reserve without obstructive CAD. Multivariate analysis revealed that EPA is an independent predictor of CFR > 2.5 (odds ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.00 - 1.02, p = 0.008).
Conclusions: The serum EPA is significantly correlated with CFR in CAD patients without significant coronary artery stenosis.