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- CAD, coronary artery disease
- CFV, coronary flow velocity
- CFVR, coronary flow velocity reserve
- MI, myocardial infarction
- TTDE, transthoracic Doppler echocardiography
Previous studies have shown the antioxidant effects of polyphenols in red wine.1–4 An acute effect of red wine on the coronary microcirculation has been shown in healthy volunteers, although neither white wine nor vodka had an acute effect on coronary microcirculation in that study.5 Thus, we hypothesised that the coronary microcirculation can be improved by a daily intake of red wine polyphenols without alcohol. In addition, this effect may be seen not only in the healthy person but also in the patient with coronary artery disease (CAD).
Recent advances in transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) have enabled non-invasive assessment of coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) in the clinical setting.6,7 This non-invasive technique has made serial assessment of CFVR after daily intake of red wine polyphenols possible even in patients with CAD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short term effect of taking red wine polyphenols on the coronary microcirculation by using TTDE to assess patients with CAD.
METHODS
Ten male patients with angiographically documented CAD were recruited for this study (mean (SD) age 61 (7) years, body mass index 28.5 (5.2) kg/cm2) in New York, USA and Osaka, Japan from October 2000 to March 2002. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) anterior myocardial infarction (MI); (2) significant stenosis (> 50%) in the left anterior descending coronary artery; (3) recent MI (< 6 months); (4) severely disturbed cardiac function (ejection fraction < 40%); (5) uncontrolled hypertension (systolic …