European Heart Journal Advance Access originally published online on October 17, 2007
European Heart Journal 2007 28(23):2834-2840; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm448
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Evaluation of the microcirculation in hypertension and cardiovascular disease
1 CARIM—Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
2 Cattedra di Medicina Interna, Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
3 Department of Pathology, Hôpital Européen G. Pompidou, Paris, France
4 Department of Cardiology, Imperial College School of Medicine, London, UK
5 Department of Anaesthesiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich Grosshardern, Munich, Germany
6 Department of Research, CNRS-INSERM UMR 6214-771, Angers, France
7 Department of Physiology, INSERM U541, Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France
8 Department of Physiology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
9 Department of Cardiology, University of Louvain Medical School, Brussels, Belgium
Received 6 June 2007; revised 30 August 2007; accepted 11 September 2007; online publish-ahead-of-print 17 October 2007.
* Corresponding author. Tel: +31 43 388 1420; fax: +31 43 388 4149. E-mail address: hsb{at}carim.Unimaas.nl
The ability to investigate the microvascular structure and function is important in improving our understanding of pathophysiological processes in hypertension and related cardiovascular disease. A range of techniques are available or emerging for investigating different aspects of the microcirculation in animals and humans. Techniques such as experimental intravital microscopy and clinical intravital microscopy (e.g. orthogonal polarization spectral imaging) allow visualization at the level of single microvessels. Venous occlusion plethysmography can be used to measure blood flow in organs, and laser Doppler flowmetry to measure red cell flux in small areas of tissue. Positron emission tomography, myocardial contrast echocardiography, and magnetic resonance imaging provide three-dimensional imaging of local blood flow. The current and potential clinical usefulness of these different techniques is evaluated. The technical quality and availability for clinical use of some of the techniques should improve dramatically during the next few years. ‘Molecular imaging’—the combination of these techniques with genetic, molecular, and computational approaches—offers great potential for use in research and in diagnosis and the monitoring of disease progression or the results of therapy. Closer attention to the microcirculation will ultimately improve the treatment and prevention of many of the most important forms of cardiovascular disease.
Key Words: Microcirculation • Intravital microscopy • Orthogonal polarization spectral imaging • Positron emission tomography • Myocardial contrast echocardiography • Magnetic resonance imaging
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  H. A.J. Struijker-Boudier Retinal Microcirculation and Early Mechanisms of Hypertension Hypertension, April 1, 2008; 51(4): 821 - 822. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|