Evaluation of the associations between vascular endothelial function and coronary artery stenosis in patients with elevated blood pressure during coronary angiography.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study is to explore the correlation between vascular endothelial function and coronary artery stenosis in non-hypertensive patients with elevated blood pressure under stress. METHODS This study included 1141 patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD) without hypertension. Coronary arteriography and ultrasonic detection were used to measure the flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) function in the brachial artery. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to coronary angiography: experiment group, patients with blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mm Hg; control group, patients with blood pressure <140/90 mm Hg. The correlation between vascular endothelial function and coronary artery stenosis was observed. RESULTS The majority of the patients in the control group were found to have either normal coronary arteries or stenosis <50%. Patients in the experiment group (those with invasive blood pressure [IBP] >140/90) were more likely to have some degree of coronary artery stenosis. Specifically, there were significantly more patients with >50% stenosis in the experiment when compared with the control group (P < .05). The FMD in the experiment group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < .05). CONCLUSION The non-hypertensive patients with elevated blood pressure under stress had coronary artery stenosis, which was associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction.