Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffRisk factors for small vessel disease include:
- Tobacco use
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher)
- Unhealthy diet
- Inactive lifestyle
- Diabetes
- Insulin resistance
- Being female
- An estrogen deficiency, in women
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Increasing age, older than 45 in men and older than 55 in women
It's not clear why the same risk factors, such as obesity or an inactive lifestyle, cause some people to develop small vessel disease instead of large vessel coronary artery disease.
References
- Bairey Merz CN, et al. Syndrome X and microvascular coronary dysfunction. Circulation. 2011;124:1477.
- What is coronary microvascular disease? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cmd/cmd_all.html. Accessed March 5, 2013.
- Camici PC, et al. Coronary microvascular dysfunction. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;356:830.
- Lanza GA, et al. Primary coronary microvascular dysfunction: Clinical presentation, pathophysiology, and management. Circulation. 2010;121:2317.
- Cholesterol. Mayo Medical Laboratories. http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/8320. Accessed March 5, 2013.
- Topcu S, et al. Metformin therapy improves coronary microvascular function in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance. Clinical Endocrinology. 2006;65:75.
- Kothawade K, et al. Microvascular coronary dysfunction in women-pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. Current Problems in Cardiology. 2011;36:291.
- Littarru GP, et al. Clinical aspects of coenzyme Q10: An update. Nutrition. 2010;26:250.
- Gao L, et al. Effects of coenzyme Q10 on vascular endothelial function in humans: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Atherosclerosis. 2012;221:311.
- Teede HJ, et al. Endothelial function and insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome: the effects of medical therapy. Fertility and Sterility. 2010; 93:184.
- EndoPat overview. Endopat.com. http://endopat.com/Home_Page.html. Accessed March 19, 2013.
- Grogan M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 18, 2013.


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