We have previously demonstrated that certain patients with chest pain, despite having normal coronary arteries, have a malfunction of the lining of the blood vessels (endothelial dysfunction). To investigate if this abnormality in the lining of blood vessels is restricted to the heart or is a wide-spread phenomenon involving the peripheral circulation, we measured the capability of the endothelium to release endothelium-derived relaxant factor both in the heart and the leg vessels. There was a correlation between the responses in the two beds, suggesting that the dysfunction of the lining of blood vessels is generalized, and involves both vascular beds.
