Association between clinical features of isolated coronary artery ectasia and circulating levels of inflammatory markers
Junping Ou, Zhijia Zhuo, Zhongwen Liu, Yuping Wang, Jie Zeng, Xiaolin Li, Lingjuan LiuBackground and aims
Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) can lead to adverse clinical outcomes, including coronary spasm, thrombosis, dissection and myocardial ischaemia. In patients with isolated CAE– in the absence of coronary artery stenosis, clinical symptoms such as angina pectoris may still occur. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between clinical features and circulating inflammatory marker levels in patients with isolated CAE.
Methods
Patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) who consented to participate underwent cardiovascular disease and risk assessment. The study enrolled 52 patients with isolated CAE and 25 control individuals with normal coronary angiograms. Coronary blood flow in the three groups was assessed using the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) frame count. Levels of inflammatory markers-including C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) – were measured in the circulating blood of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with isolated CAE and compared between the two groups.
Results
Symptomatic patients with isolated CAE showed significantly higher circulating levels of IL-1β and TNF-α than asymptomatic patients (
Conclusions
In patients with isolated CAE, the presence of symptoms is associated with elevated circulating levels of pro-inflammatory markers such as IL-1β and TNF-α, as well as reduced coronary blood flow.