Flow-mediated arterial dilation is abnormal in congestive heart failure

Backround. Abnormalities in endothelium-dependent relaxation to acetylcholine have been reported in congestive heart failure (CHF). The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are abnormalities in flow-mediated large vessel relaxation in patients with chronic CHF. Methods and Results. The dilator response of the radial artery was measured by a new high precision A-mode ultrasound device in response to release of 10 minutes of forearm arterial occlusion (reactive hyperemic blood flow response, (HBF). Radial arterial blood velocity was measured simultaneously, and blood flow was calculated. In nine patients with chronic CHF, there was a small but insignificant reduction of peak RHFB (p=0.09) when compared with nine age-matched control subjects