BACKGROUND We hypothesized that atherosclerosis inhibits NO-mediated endothelium-dependent dilation of coronary arterioles through interaction of ox-LDL with its receptor, LOX-1, through the production of O2ÿ- in endothelial cells. METHODS AND RESULTS We assessed the role of ox-LDL in endothelial dysfunction in a murine model of atherosclerosis (ApoE KO mice). Coronary arterioles from WT cont...

Antioxidants and Endothelial Dysfunction in Young and Elderly People: Is Flow-Mediated Dilation Useful to Assess Acute Effects? To the Editor: Wray et al reported that acute consumption of antioxidants by healthy subjects had diametrically different effects: flow-mediated dilation increased in elderly people but decreased in young people. The opposite effects are difficult to interpret and reco...

BACKGROUND Brachial artery endothelial function is impaired in individuals with atherosclerosis and coronary risk factors and improves with risk reduction therapy. However, the predictive value of brachial artery endothelial dysfunction for future cardiovascular events is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS We preoperatively examined brachial artery vasodilation using ultrasound in 187 patients unde...

INTRODUCTION Ultrasound measurements of brachial artery reactivity in response to stagnant ischemia provide estimates of microvascular function and conduit artery endothelial function. We hypothesized that brachial artery reactivity would independently predict severe sepsis and severe sepsis mortality. METHODS This was a combined case-control and prospective cohort study. We measured brachial...

Obesity is associated with impaired endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilation, a precursor to hypertension and atherosclerosis. Although dieting generally improves cardiovascular risk factors, the direct effect of different dietary strategies on vascular endothelial function is not known. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that a low-fat (LF) diet improves endothelial funct...

Bubolz AH, Mendoza SA, Zheng X, Zinkevich NS, Li R, Gutterman DD, Zhang DX. Activation of endothelial TRPV4 channels mediates flow-induced dilation in human coronary arterioles: role of Ca entry and mitochondrial ROS signaling. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 302: H634–H642, 2012. First published December 2, 2011; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00717.2011.—In human coronary arterioles (HCAs) from patient...

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in the impact of oral health on cardiovascular disease, particularly regarding the effects of chronic infections such as periodontitis on the endothelium. The aim of this study was to evaluate in healthy smokers whether there are any significant differences in the frequency of endothelial dysfunction between subjects with chronic mod...