Predicting Endothelium-Dependent Diastolic Function (FMD) and Its Correlation with the Degree of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and Plaque Vulnerability for Cardiovascular Events

Guangming Zhang; Jing Yang; Hanghang Xing; Hongning Yin; Guoqing Gu

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S435417

Predicting Endothelium-Dependent Diastolic Function (FMD) and Its Correlation with the Degree of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and Plaque Vulnerability for Cardiovascular Events

Int J Gen Med. 2024 Mar 22:17:1117-1125. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S435417. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Guangming Zhang¹, Jing Yang¹, Hanghang Xing¹, Hongning Yin², Guoqing Gu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cardiology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050004, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Heart ultrasound, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050004, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between vascular endothelium-dependent diastolic function (FMD) and the degree of coronary artery disease (CAD), plaque vulnerability, and its predictive value for cardiovascular events.

Methods: Initially, patients (n=100) who were admitted from January 2020 to January 2021 and intended to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were selected. Further, FMD in all patients was determined before the procedure and divided into a high-FMD group (≥4.2%) and a low-FMD group (<4.2%). Further, the data of two groups, including general information, coronary artery lesions, and plaque fibrous cap, were compared. Finally, the relationship between FMD and the degree of coronary artery lesions and plaque vulnerability was analyzed.

Results: No significant differences were observed concerning general information, number of coronary arteries-associated branches, lesion type, involvement of the left main stem (LM), the proportion of chronic occluded lesions (CTO), and lipid pool angle between the low-FMD group and the high-FMD group (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, the degree of stenosis of the lesions in the low-FMD group was significantly higher than in the high-FMD group (P < 0.05). In addition, the thickness of the fibrous cap was considerably lower than that in the high-FMD group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the incidence rate of TCFA was significantly higher than the high-FMD group (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis showed that FMD was significantly negatively correlated with the degree of coronary artery lesion stenosis and TCFA (P < 0.05) and positively correlated with the fibrous cap thickness (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Overall, a negative correlation between FMD and the degree of coronary stenosis, plaque vulnerability, and a high predictive value for post-PCI cardiovascular events suggested that FMD could be a critical diagnostic marker for CAD.

Keywords: coronary heart disease; endothelium-dependent diastolic function; lesion extent; plaque vulnerability; predictive value.

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the 2020 Hebei Provincial Department of Finance Elderly Disease Prevention and Control Funding Project: The Relationship between Endothelial Dysfunction and Plaque Severity and Vulnerability in Elderly Coronary Heart Disease Patients and Its Prognostic Significance. (No.303163320).