Relationship between carotid sclerosis and lipoprotein(a) in patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract

Objective To study the relationship between carotid sclerosis and lipoprotein (LP) (a) in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods One hundred and fifty-nine coronary artery disease patients with coronary arteriongraphy (CAG) positive were selected as the study group, and Gensini points were taken in these patients. Forty CAG normal patients was in control group, and all of them were examined with ultrasound, and serum levels of LP (a) were tested. According to ultrasound, study group were divided into 4 subgroups: normal intima group(24 cases), mild stenosis group(41 cases), moderate stenosis group (82 cases) and severe stenosis group ( 12 cases). Results The rate of carotid sclerosis in study group [84.9％ (135/159)] was significantly higher than that in control group [42.5％ ( 17/40 )] (P ＜ 0.01 ). Gensini points in moderate and severe stenosis group were significantly higher than those in normal intima and mild stenosis group (P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01 ), Gensini points in severe stenosis group were significantly higher than those in moderately group(P ＜ 0.01 ), but there was no significant difference between mild stenosis group and normal intima group(P ＞ 0.05 ). The level of LP(a) in study group[(35.27 + 23.38) mg/L] was significantly higher than that in control group[(23.13 ± 16.56) mg/L](P＜ 0.01 ). The level of LP(a) in mild stenosis group was significantly lower than that in moderate and severe stenosis group(P＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01 ), and there was no significantly difference compared with that in normal intima group(P＞ 0.05 ). Conclusions Carotid sclerosis ultrasonic testing helps to predict the risk degree of coronary artery disease. The level of LP(a ) is closely related with carotid sclerosis and has important value in judging the condition of patients with coronary artery disease. Key words: Coronary disease; Carotid artery disease; Lipoproteins