ASSOCIATION OF ARTERIAL STIFFNESS WITH MARKERS OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION AND SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE
In order to analyze the relationship between the indices of arterial stiffness and the markers of vascular endothelial dysfunction and systemic inflammation, 69 patients with severe COPD and high-risk (GOLD 2013) during an exacerbation were examined. The stiffness of the vascular wall was determined with the help of an automatic sphygmograph and a sphygmomanometer "VaSera VS-1000". For the study, the carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV-aorta), right and left cardiovascular vascular index (R/L-CAVI) were chosen. Determination of the indices of systemic inflammation and vascular damage was carried out in the blood serum by the method of enzyme immunoassay. Analysis of the quantitative characteristics of arterial stiffness in patients with severe COPD and high risk revealed that in general in the group the studied indices were significantly higher than those of healthy individuals. The mean age of the vessels in the group of patients exceeded the biological age by 11.5% and amounted, on average, to 68.46-1.22 years. The in-group analysis revealed that concentrations of biomarkers of systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were higher in COPD patients with R-CAVI values greater than 9, compared with less than 9 in the R-CAVI group. In a separate correlation analysis, it was found that the increase in the basic indices of arterial stiffness was associated both with the level of the indicators of systemic inflammation, and with the biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction. The obtained interrelations show that the formation of excessive vascular stiffness in patients with severe COPD of high risk is associated with the activation of inflammatory mediators and endothelial dysfunction, mostly with high levels of high - sensitivity C - reactive protein, fibrinogen, endothelin-1, homocysteine and TNF-α, and that’s why the determination of these parameters of AS is recommended, first of all, to these patients. The registration of events that manifest interdependent changes in the processes of vascular bed remodeling, systemic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction will allow early detection of patients with increased cardiovascular risk and timely intensification of therapy in this category of patients.