Schroder J, et al. - In this study involving women with angina pectoris and no significant obstructive coronary artery disease (< 50% stenosis on invasive coronary angiography), researchers determined the links between cardiovascular protein biomarkers and non-endothelium dependent coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) evaluated by positron emission tomography (PET). Myocardial blood flow reserve (MBFR) < 2.5 by rubidium-82 PET defined CMD. A cardiovascular disease proteomic panel including 92 biomarkers was used to analyze blood samples. In women, galectin-4, growth differentiation factor 15, tissue-type plasminogen activator and von Willebrand factor were found to be associated with non-endothelium dependent CMD. This finding indicated the association of inflammatory status and coagulation changes with impaired microvascular dilatation.