Abstract
The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between coronary flow velocity reserve (CFR), aortic distensibility indices, and levels of plasma total cholesterol (TC) in arterial hypertension. We studied 39 consecutive hypertensive patients free of coronary artery disease. Eighteen of them had normal TC and 21 had 18 high TC. Coronary flow velocity reserve and aortic elastic moduli were measured during stress transoesophageal echocardiography. Reduced CFR (2.41 ± 0.75 vs. 1.97 ± 0.60, p < 0.05), increased aortic elastic modulus (in 103 mmHg) (0.56 ± 0.41 vs. 0.77 ± 0.29, p < 0.05) and Young's modulus (in 103 mmHg) (5.42 ± 4.03 vs. 8.57 ± 4.79, p < 0.05) were found in hypercholesterolaemia.