Endothelial function plays an important role in the protection of vessels from atherosclerosis. Detection of endothelial dysfunction by non-invasive methods (flow-mediated dilation) and its association with other imaging modalities (calcium score in coronary computed tomography [CT] angiography) is still controversial. In this study, we aim to investigate the association between endothelial function evaluated by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and calcium score evaluated by coronary CT.
In this cross-sectional study, 124 patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD, positive calcium score) were enrolled. FMD as an indicator of endothelial function was evaluated in these participants. FMD less than 7.1%was considered abnormal. Correlation between calcium score and severity of calcification(calcium score above 100 considered as the cutoff point of the high score) and glow-mediated dilation was obtained using the linear regression model.