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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffResearchers aren't sure why, but women are more likely than men to develop small vessel disease. It may be linked to low estrogen levels, especially at the onset of menopause.
The most important risk factors for small vessel disease are the same as those for more common types of coronary artery disease, including:
- Tobacco smoking
- Total blood cholesterol over 240 mg/dL (6.2 mmol/L)
- Systolic blood pressure over 140 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or diastolic blood pressure over 90 mm Hg
- Obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher)
- Inactive lifestyle
- Diabetes
- Stress or depression
Researchers aren't sure why the same risk factors would cause some people to develop small vessel disease instead of large vessel coronary artery disease. Because women are more likely to develop small vessel disease than are men, researchers think these conditions, which occur more commonly in women, may play a role in the development of small vessel disease.
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Inflammation due to an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus
- Migraines
- Mayo Clinic Health Letter. "Small vessel heart disease." October 2007. Vol. 25, No. 10, pp. 1-3.
- Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. "Small vessel heart disease." February 2008. Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 1-2
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. "What is coronary microvascular disease?" September 2007. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cmd/cmd_all.html (Viewed 4-22-08).
- Camici PC, Crea F. Coronary microvascular dysfunction. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007, Vol. 356, pp. 830-840.
- Playford DA, et al. Combined effect of coenzyme Q10 and fenofibrate on forearm microcirculatory function in type 2 diabetes. Atherosclerosis. 2003, Vol. 168, pp. 169-179.
- Tiano L, et al. Effect of coenzyme Q10 administration on endothelial function and extracellular superoxide dismutase in patients with ischaemic heart disease: a double-blind, randomized controlled study. European Heart Journal. 2007, Vol. 28, pp. 2249-2255.
- Kurth T, et al. Migraine and ischaemic vascular events. Cephalalgia. 2007;27(8):965-975.
- Barrett BJ, et al. Differences in hormonal and renal vascular responses between normotensive patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and unaffected family members. Kidney International. 1994;46(4):1118-1123.
- Schoenfeld Y, et al. Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases. Circulation. 2005;112(21):3337-3347.
