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Association between coronary microvascular function and the vasa vasorum in patients with early coronary artery

Kyoung-Ha Park1, Tao Sun2, Felipe Diez-Delhoyo2

  • 1Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Hallym University Medical Center, Anyang, South Korea.

Atherosclerosis
|September 15, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Vasa vasorum density negatively correlates with coronary blood flow in early atherosclerosis. This finding links adventitial structure to microvascular dysfunction, offering insights into early disease development.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Atherosclerosis Research
  • Microvascular Function

Background:

  • Vasa vasorum (VV) involvement in early atherosclerosis is recognized.
  • Microvascular dysfunction may indicate early atherosclerotic changes.
  • The relationship between coronary microvascular function and VV density needs further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the association between coronary microvascular function and vasa vasorum density.
  • To explore the role of VV density in early coronary atherosclerosis.

Main Methods:

  • Coronary microvascular function was assessed in 24 patients with early coronary artery disease using endothelium-dependent (coronary blood flow, CBF) and endothelium-independent (coronary flow velocity reserve, CFVR) tests.
  • Optical coherence tomography (OCT) quantified vasa vasorum density (%VV) in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD).
  • Intracoronary Doppler guidewire and acetylcholine/adenosine were used for CBF and CFVR measurements.

Main Results:

  • %VV correlated inversely with CBF (r = -0.614, p = 0.001) and directly with CFVR (r = 0.423, p = 0.040).
  • Multivariate analysis confirmed %VV as a significant independent correlate of CBF.
  • Median %VV was 2.62%.

Conclusions:

  • Vasa vasorum density is negatively correlated with endothelium-dependent microvascular function in early coronary atherosclerosis.
  • Adventitial vasa vasorum structure is linked to microvascular dysfunction in this patient group.
  • Findings suggest VV density as a potential marker for early atherosclerotic changes.
Abstract

Keywords:
Microvascular functionOptical coherence tomographyVasa vasorum

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