Effect of Hypercholesterolemia and Age on Endothelial Function in Women.
10.4070/kcj.2002.32.7.549
- Author:
Tae Jun PARK
1
;
Bong Gwan SEO
;
Dong Ju CHOI
;
Sung Ji PARK
;
Byung Cheol CHIN
;
Jung Hoon LEE
;
In Gyu MUN
;
Jeong Rang PARK
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Hypercholesterolemia;
Vasodilation;
Endothelium;
vascular;
Age factors;
Female
- MeSH:
Age Factors;
Aging;
Atherosclerosis;
Brachial Artery;
Cholesterol;
Electrocardiography;
Endothelium;
Female;
Humans;
Hypercholesterolemia*;
Linear Models;
Nitroglycerin;
Risk Factors;
Transducers;
Ultrasonics;
Ultrasonography;
Vasodilation
- From:Korean Circulation Journal
2002;32(7):549-555
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is known that both hypercholesterolemia and aging cause endothelial dysfunction, but which has the greater effect is less well known. A useful, non-invasive method for the evaluation of endothelial function is flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery (BA) employing high-resolution ultrasound. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of serum cholesterol and age on endothelial function in women utilising the above method. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 21 of the 37 women in this study (mean age 46+/-15 years, range 24-72), had hypercholesterolemia (>or=200 mg/dL) and 16 had normocholesterolemia (<200 mg/dL). None of the subjects suffered classic risk factors associated with atherosclerosis other than hypercholesterolemia. The inner diameter of the right BA was measured at the peak of ECG R wave, from a longitudinal section taken by an 8.0-MHz B-mode linear-array ultrasonic transducer. Scans were taken at rest, during reactive hyperaemia (endothelium-dependent dilation;EDD), again at rest, and following sublingual nitroglycerin (endothelium-independent dilation;EID). RESULTS: From simple linear regression analyses, the serum cholesterol levels were found to be negatively related to the EDD of the BA at an age <50 years (r=-0.63, p<0.01), and also >or=50 years (r=-0.54, p<0.05). Serum cholesterol levels were not significantly related to the EID, regardless of age. In contrast, age was not related to EDD or EID in either normocholesterolemic or hypercholesterolemic subjects. CONCLUSION: These results suggest hypercholesterolemia has a greater effect than age in impairing the endothelial function in women.
