TY - JOUR
T1 - Inverse correlation between coronary and retinal blood flows in patients with normal coronary arteries and slow coronary blood flow
AU - Arbel, Yaron
AU - Sternfeld, Amir
AU - Barak, Adiel
AU - Burgansky-Eliash, Zvia
AU - Halkin, Amir
AU - Berliner, Shlomo
AU - Herz, Itzhak
AU - Keren, Gad
AU - Rubinstein, Ardon
AU - Banai, Shmuel
AU - Finkelstein, Ariel
PY - 2014/1
Y1 - 2014/1
N2 - Background: The "Slow Coronary Flow" (SCF) phenomenon in the presence of angiographically normal coronaries is attributed to microvascular and endothelial dysfunction. The microcirculation can be non-invasively assessed by measuring retinal blood flow velocity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the "Retinal Functional Imager" (RFI) device as a noninvasive method of diagnosing patients with slow coronary flow. Methods: Coronary blood flow velocity assessed by corrected TIMI Frame Count and retinal arterioles blood flow assessed by RFI were measured in 28 consecutive patients with normal coronary arteries. The patients were divided into 2 groups: a slow coronary flow (SCF) and a normal coronary flow (NCF) groups. Results: Inverse correlation was found between retinal and coronary blood flows so that higher retinal arterial flow velocity was observed in the SCF group (3.8±1.1mm/s vs. 2.9±0.61mm/s, respectively, p=0.022). RFI provided 73% sensitivity and 77% specificity for diagnosing SCF using ROC analysis. Additionally, patients with SCF had higher values of serum LDL cholesterol (104.7±18.93mg/dl vs. 81.55±14.62mg/dl in NCF, p=0.005), Glucose (96.9±23.0mg/dl vs. 83.55±9.7mg/dl in NCF, p=0.024), and lower percentage of statin consumption (40.0% vs. 76.9% in NCF, p=0.049). Conclusions: Slow coronary blood flow can be non-invasively diagnosed with Retinal Functional Imager. Patients with normal coronary arteries and slow coronary blood flow have high retinal arteriolar blood flow. Early non-invasive diagnosis of SCF might help detect individuals who are at higher risk to develop coronary atherosclerosis, and to provide them with early preventive measures.
AB - Background: The "Slow Coronary Flow" (SCF) phenomenon in the presence of angiographically normal coronaries is attributed to microvascular and endothelial dysfunction. The microcirculation can be non-invasively assessed by measuring retinal blood flow velocity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the "Retinal Functional Imager" (RFI) device as a noninvasive method of diagnosing patients with slow coronary flow. Methods: Coronary blood flow velocity assessed by corrected TIMI Frame Count and retinal arterioles blood flow assessed by RFI were measured in 28 consecutive patients with normal coronary arteries. The patients were divided into 2 groups: a slow coronary flow (SCF) and a normal coronary flow (NCF) groups. Results: Inverse correlation was found between retinal and coronary blood flows so that higher retinal arterial flow velocity was observed in the SCF group (3.8±1.1mm/s vs. 2.9±0.61mm/s, respectively, p=0.022). RFI provided 73% sensitivity and 77% specificity for diagnosing SCF using ROC analysis. Additionally, patients with SCF had higher values of serum LDL cholesterol (104.7±18.93mg/dl vs. 81.55±14.62mg/dl in NCF, p=0.005), Glucose (96.9±23.0mg/dl vs. 83.55±9.7mg/dl in NCF, p=0.024), and lower percentage of statin consumption (40.0% vs. 76.9% in NCF, p=0.049). Conclusions: Slow coronary blood flow can be non-invasively diagnosed with Retinal Functional Imager. Patients with normal coronary arteries and slow coronary blood flow have high retinal arteriolar blood flow. Early non-invasive diagnosis of SCF might help detect individuals who are at higher risk to develop coronary atherosclerosis, and to provide them with early preventive measures.
KW - Coronary flow
KW - Normal coronary arteries
KW - Retinal blood flow
KW - Slow coronary flow
KW - TIMI frame count
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84891618972&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2013.10.033
DO - 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2013.10.033
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AN - SCOPUS:84891618972
SN - 0021-9150
VL - 232
SP - 149
EP - 154
JO - Atherosclerosis
JF - Atherosclerosis
IS - 1
ER -