Ultrasound Assessment of Endothelial Function: A Technical Guideline of the Flow-mediated Dilation Test

Summary

The flow mediated dilation (FMD) test is the most commonly utilized, non-invasive, ultrasound assessment of endothelial function in humans. Although the FMD test has been related with the prediction of future cardiovascular disease and events, it is a physiological assessment with many inherent confounding factors that need to be considered.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the primary cause of mortality and a major cause of disability worldwide. The dysfunction of the vascular endothelium is a pathological condition characterized mainly by a disruption in the balance between vasodilator and vasoconstrictor substances and is proposed to play an important role in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Therefore, a precise evaluation of endothelial function in humans represents an important tool that could help better understand the etiology of multiple cardio-centric pathologies.

Over the past twenty-five years, many methodological approaches have been developed to provide an assessment of endothelial function in humans. Introduced in 1989, the FMD test incorporates a forearm occlusion and subsequent reactive hyperemia that promotes nitric oxide production and vasodilation of the brachial artery. The FMD test is now the most widely utilized, non-invasive, ultrasonic assessment of endothelial function in humans and has been associated with future cardiovascular events.

Although the FMD test could have clinical utility, it is a physiological assessment that has inherited several confounding factors that need to be considered. This article describes a standardized protocol for determining FMD including the recommended methodology to help minimize the physiological and technical issues and improve the precision and reproducibility of the assessment.

Introduction

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Dysfunction of the vascular endothelium represents an initial phase toward the development of multiple vascular-related diseases¹. Hence, an accurate assessment of endothelial function in humans represents an important technique that could help in understanding the etiology of multiple cardiovascular pathologies, with the ultimate goal of improving the efficacy of the treatment and prevention of disease.

Endothelium

The endothelium is a monolayer of cells that synthesizes numerous vasoactive substances, such as nitric oxi....

Protocol

NOTE: The following FMD procedure is routinely conducted during vascular assessment studies in the Laboratory of Integrative Vascular and Exercise Physiology (LIVEP). All procedures followed the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and were approved by the Institutional Review Board at Georgia Regents University. All participants were informed of the objectives and possible risks of the technique before written consent for participation was obtained. Figure 1 illustrates a schematic summary of the essential elements that should be considered for the ultrasound assessment of brachial artery FMD.

1. Subject Preparation (Prior to Arrival)

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Results

Baseline characteristics from an apparently healthy cohort group are presented in Table 1. The most common variables of FMD testing conducted in the Laboratory of Integrative Vascular and Exercise Physiology (LIVEP) are presented in Table 2. The following variables are considered the main FMD parameters to analyze by the published FMD tutorial⁴ and guidelines³⁶.

Baseline an.......

Discussion

Introduced in 1989²⁰, the FMD test has been widely used in humans as a non-invasive measure of endothelial function. FMD has not only been shown to predict future vascular-related disease risk^19,52,53, lower FMD values have been show to strongly correlate with cardiovascular impairments^24,25,54. Although there are other techniques to assess endothelial function, both invasively (coronary angiography) and non-invasively (venous plethysmography and finger plethysmography), FMD has been the .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Doppler ultrasound	GE Medical Systems	Logiq 7	Essential to include Duplex mode for simultaneous acquisition of B-mode and Doppler
Electrocardiographic (ECG) gating	Accusync Medical Research	Accusync 72
12-MHz Linear array transducer	GE Medical Systems	11L-D	A high-resolution linear array probe is essential
Forearm occlusion cuff	D.E. Hokanson	SC5	5 cm x 84 cm
Ultrasound transmission gel	Parker	01-08
Rapid cuff inflator	D.E. Hokanson	E-20 AG101
Sterotactic-probe holder	Flexabar	18047	Magnetic base fine adjustor
Edge detection analysis software	Medical Imaging Applications	Brachial Analyzer 5