Skin microvascular endothelial function is impaired in many cardiovascular diseases, and could be therefore considered as a representative vascular bed. However, today, available evidence allows considering skin microvascular endothelial function neither as a diagnostic biomarker nor as a prognostic biomarker in cardiovascular diseases. Large follow-up studies using standardized methods should now be conducted to assess the potential predictive value of skin microvascular function in cardiovascular diseases.
Keywords: Endothelium; Laser Doppler; Laser speckle contrast imaging; Reactivity tests; Skin microcirculation.
Copyright © 2015 Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.