An application of the FMD technique in the clinical follow-up of CPB procedures may, therefore, appear appropriate for
predicting the risk of future events. Previous studies hypothe-sized a negative effect of continuous flow as opposed to the
more physiologic pulsatileflow. Considering that the major
physiologic determinant of endothelium release of vasoprotec-tive mediators is the laminar flow and consequent wall shear stress, the influence of different perfusion modalities during CPB (ie, continuousflowvpulsatileflow) on the endothelial
reactivity might represent important information concerning potential clinical drawbacks