The Level of hs-CRP in Coronary Artery Ectasia and Its Response to Statin and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor Treatment

• Published in: Mediators of Inflammation 2007-01, Vol.2007 (1), p.384-387
• Main Authors: OZBAY, Yilmaz, AKBULUT, Mehmet, BALIN, Mehmet, KAYANCICEK, Hidayet, BAYDAS, Adil, KORKMAZ, Hasan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ACE inhibitors; Aged; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Aortic aneurysms; Biological and medical sciences; C-reactive protein; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Care and treatment; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Artery Disease - blood; Coronary Artery Disease - drug therapy; Coronary heart disease; Coronary Vessels - drug effects; Coronary Vessels - metabolism; Coronary Vessels - pathology; Diagnosis; Dilatation, Pathologic; Female; General aspects; Health aspects; Humans; Immunoassay; Male; Measurement; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Physiological aspects; Prognosis; Simvastatin - therapeutic use; Statins; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0962-9351; 1466-1861
• DOI: 10.1155/2007/89649

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) was thought of as a variant of atherosclerosis. C-reactive protein (CRP) which is among the most sensitive markers of systemic inflammation, and elevation of systemic and local levels of this inflammatory marker which has been associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in the obstructive coronary artery disease (O-CAD) are well known, but little was known in CAE. The anti-inflammatory effects of statins and the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors on endothelial dysfunction are well established in atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate CRP level and its response to statin and ACE inhibitor treatment in CAE. We measured serum hs-CRP level in 40 CAE (26 males, mean age: 56.32 +/- 9 years) and 41 O-CAD (34 males, mean age: 57.19 +/- 10 years) patients referred for elective coronary angiography at baseline and after 3-month statin and ACE inhibitor treatment. Plasma hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in CAE group than O-CAD group at baseline (2.68 +/- 66 mg/L versus 1, 64 +/- 64, resp., P < .0001). Plasma hs-CRP levels significantly decreased from baseline 3 months later in the CE (from 2.68 +/- 0.66 mg/L to 1.2 +/- 0.53 mg/L, P < .0001) as well as in the O-CAD group (from 1.64 +/- 0.64 mg/L to 1.01 +/- 0.56 mg/L, P < .001). We think that hs-CRP measurement may be a good prognostic value in CAE patients as in stenotic ones. Further placebo-controlled studies are needed to evaluate the clinical significance of this decrease in hs-CRP.