Endothelial Dysfunction under the Scope of Arterial Hypertension,
Coronary Heart Disease, and Diabetes Mellitus using the Angioscan
Authors: Marzoog Basheer Abdullah 
Published: November 2023

Background:

Cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus are among the leading
causes of mortality.

Objectives:

Our study evaluated endothelial function in patients with arterial hypertension,
coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus.

Aims:

This study aimed to assess the degree of endothelial dysfunction in individuals with
cardiovascular risk factors older than 55 years of age.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 112 patients were subdivided into three groups according to
the existing disease; the first group consisted of 50 patients diagnosed with arterial hypertension
(AH), the second group consisted of 30 patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD), and the third
group included 20 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The control group included 12
practically healthy volunteers, comparable in age and sex. Exclusion criteria were age under 55
years, severe concomitant diseases in the acute phase or acute infectious diseases, and
oncopathology. Considered factors of cardiovascular risk include dyslipidemia, elevated fasting
blood glucose, hypertension, obesity, cigarette smoking, and heredity for CVD. Moreover, tests
were conducted with the help of the device 'AngioScan-01' (LLC "AngioScan Electronics").
Endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDV), the index of stiffness of the vascular wall (SI), and
the atherogenic index (log (TG/HDL - C )) were evaluated. The analysis of the data obtained
was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistic program.

Results:

In the control group, the atherogenic index was in the range of 3.34 (the normal is up to
3.5). The highest atherogenic index, 4.01, was observed in the DM group (differences with the
control group are statistically significant). In the AH and IHD groups, the atherogenic index
was 3.57 and 3.65, respectively. In the control group, the level of glycemia was 4.45 mmol/l.
The highest level of fasting glucose was reported in the DM group, i.e., 6.7 mmol/l (differences
with the control group were statistically significant). In the first and second groups, the fasting
glucose level was 5.07 mmol/l and 5.08 mmol/l, respectively. In the control group, the mean
EDV score was 2,056 ± 0.757 mm, and the lowest EDV in the DM group was 1.365 ± 0.413, but
in the AH and IHD groups, it was also significantly reduced by 1.404 ± 0.440 and 1.377 ± 0.390,
respectively. The stiffness index in the control group was 6.725 ± 0.776 m/s. In the DM group,
this parameter was 8.258 ± 0.656 m/s; in the AH and IHD groups, it was 7.398 ± 1.330 m/s and
7.486 ± 0.816 m/s, respectively.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the study of endothelial function using non-invasive angioscan
reflects the influence of risk factors on the vascular wall. The most severe endothelial
dysfunction is expressed in patients with diabetes. The results of endothelium-dependent
vasodilation and the vascular wall stiffness index (SI) correspond to the scale of evaluation of
the 10-year CVD mortality risk (SCORE). These results indicate a deterioration in the vascular
ability to vasodilate in patients in response to mechanical deformation of the endothelium and
the effect of NO on smooth muscle vascular cells.