2022 Volume 49 Issue 1 Pages 17-23
Flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) is an important examination for confirming progression of vascular endothelial dysfunction and arteriosclerosis-related conditions. In addition, nitroglycerin-mediated vasodilation (NMD) is recommended to determine the function of vascular smooth muscle itself. The combination of FMD and NMD can help determine whether the vascular dysfunction is caused by vascular endothelial dysfunction or vascular smooth muscle dysfunction. %FMD and %NMD were calculated as the percentage changes in peak diameter, from the resting baseline diameter, in each measurement. A previous report showed that %FMD and %NMD can be predictors of cardiovascular events. In addition, %FMD can be a predictor of cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, hypertension, and endothelial dysfunction in carotid arteriosclerosis.
