Vascular Health in Kawasaki Disease

ObjectivesThe objective of our study was to compare the indices of vascular health in Kawasaki disease (KD) patients to those of control subjects.BackgroundThe literature on peripheral vascular health after KD is conflicting.MethodsSubjects were patients 11 to 29 years of age with the onset of KD >12 months before the study visit (n = 203) and healthy control subjects (n = 50). We measured endothelial function (using the Endothelial Pulse Amplitude Testing index), intima-media thickness (IMT) of the right common carotid artery (RCCA) and the left common carotid artery (LCCA), and fasting lipid profile and C-reactive protein (CRP). KD patients were classified according to their worst-ever coronary artery (CA) status: group I, always normal CAs (n = 136, 67%); group II, CA z-scores ≥2 but <3 (n = 20, 10%); group III, CA aneurysm z-scores ≥3 but