Cor Vasa 2006, 48(11):379-383 | DOI: 10.33678/cor.2006.123

The risk factor profile of patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery and their relatives

Alena Lorenzová^1,4,*, Hana Pospíšilová², Marek Šetina², Petr Stávek¹, Věra Lánská³, Rudolf Poledne¹

¹ Laboratoř pro výzkum aterosklerózy, Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny, Praha

² Klinika kardiochirurgie, Nemocnice České Budějovice, České Budějovice

³ Statistické oddělení, Institut klinické a experimentální medicíny

⁴ Kardiocentrum, Klinika kardiologie, Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady a 3. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, Praha, Česká republika

Introduction:
Pro-inflammatory status measured as elevated levels of high-sensitive CŚreactive protein (hsCRP) has been shown to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis progression, but the mechanisms contributing to its elevation are not clearly elucidated yet. In order to prove our theory that there is a strong genetic background regulating hsCRP concentration, we studied potential genetic and environmental effects in patients undergoing elective coronary revascularization (coronary artery bypass grafting, CABG), their spouses and offspring.

Method:
All consecutive male patients (n = 200) under 65 years of age admitted to the Cardiac Surgery Department of České Budějovice Hospital for CABG between April 2003 and October 2005 were included in the study. The day prior to surgery, blood was taken for biochemical analysis, a health questionnaire completed and anthropological parameters measured. The same examinations were performed also in their spouses (n = 193) and offspring (n = 192). AgeŚmatched controls were selected from a 1% representative population sample of adult men and women.

Results:
In patients, hsCRP levels were significantly higher than in their population controls (2.69 ± 2.30 vs. 1.70 ± 1.79 mg/L, p < 0.001); in lipoprotein parameters, total, LDL-and HDL-cholesterol were significantly lower in patients than in controls. Ninety-two percent of patients were on statin treatment. hsCRP levels did not differ significantly between spouses and their population controls. In offspring, hsCRP levels were significantly higher than in their population controls (p = 0.0018 for male, p = 0.0201 for female offspring), suggesting an effect of genetic background on hsCRP concentration.

Conclusion:
Genetic background influencing hsCRP levels is very probable. In the future, genetic screening may be a useful tool for identifying individuals who are most at risk.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; CABG; Coronary artery disease; hsCRP; Pro-inflammatory status Ś Risk factors

Published: November 1, 2006  Show citation