摘要：Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and other industrialized societies. Older age is the major risk factor for development of CVD [1]. Emerging evidence over the past 20 years suggests that the arterial vascular endothelium plays a critical role in the development of CVD, most notably, atherosclerosis. A healthy vascular endothelium is characterized by a tightly regulated balance of pro- and anti-oxidants, vasodilators and vasoconstrictors, and pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules. A diseased or dysfunctional endothelium displays a “pro-atherogenic” phenotype, losing its tightly regulated balance and adopting a pro-oxidant/vasoconstrictor/pro-inflammatory phenotype. A hallmark of arterial endothelial dysfunction is impaired endothelial dependent dilation, which is predictive of future CVD events [1, 2].
