Blood metabolomic fingerprint is distinct in healthy coronary and in stenosing or microvascular ischemic heart disease

Background The endothelium is a key variable in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its complications, particularly coronary artery disease (CAD). Current evidence suggests that the endothelial status can be regarded as an integrated index of individual atherogenic and anti-atherogenic properties, and that the interaction between circulating factors and the arterial wall might be critical for atherogenesis. In organism-level investigations, a functional view is provided by metabolomics, the study of the metabolic profile of small molecules. We sought to verify whether metabolomic analysis can reveal the presence of coronary microenvironment peculiarities associated with distinct manifestations of CAD.