Homocysteine Levels and Other Risk Factors in Coronary Heart Disease

Authors: GİRAY BOZKAYA, AYDAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU, SİBEL BİLGİLİ, BAYSAL KARACA, ERCÜMENT CENGİZ, OKTAY BİLGİR

Abstract: Many risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) have been reported to date. Recently, it has been shown that elevations in homocysteine (Hcy) levels may contribute to the development of coronary heart diseases. In this study, our aim was to determine the relation of Hcy levels and other risk factors in CHD. Serum Hcy, lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL and LDL levels were measured in 51 male patients, diagnosed with CHD with negative T elevations in electrocardiograms, and in 20 healthy males. Hcy was determined in serum samples with Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay (FPIA) on Abbott IMx. All the parameters were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05) when compared with those of the control group. The mean Hcy levels in patients and control subjects were 12.18±0.65µmol/L and 3.73±0.43µmol/L respectively. It was found that Hcy levels did not correlate with CRP, fibrinogen or Lp(a) (p>0.05), while CRP was well correlated with fibrinogen and Lp(a), and Lp(a) was well correlated with fibrinogen (p<0.05). High levels of Hcy are associated with CHD independent of other coronary risk factors. Since high Hcy levels can easily be treated with vitamin supplements, determining Hcy concentrations on a routine basis may help to reduce mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: atherosclerosis, homocysteine, fibrinogen, CRP, Lp(a)

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