ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The etiopathogenesis of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is not known completely. In most of the cases, CAE is associated with atherosclerosis; however, isolated CAE has a nonatherosclerotic mechanism. The association between atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and apelin has been examined in previous studies. However, the role of plasma apelin in isolated coronary artery ectasia has not been studied. In this study, we investigated the relationship between plasma apelin levels and isolated coronary artery ectasia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population included a total of 54 patients. Twenty-six patients had isolated CAE (53.6+/-8.1 years); 28 patients with normal coronary arteries (51.6+/-8.8 years) and with similar risk factors and demographic characteristics served as the control group. Apelin levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunoassay kit. RESULTS: Apelin level in the CAE group was significantly lower (apelin=0.181+/-0.159 ng/mL) than that in the control group (apelin=0.646+/-0.578 ng/mL) (p=0.033). Glucose, creatinine, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, we showed that patients with isolated CAE have decreased plasma apelin levels compared with the control group. Based on the data, a relationship between plasma apelin and isolated CAE was determined.
Subject(s)
Humans , Atherosclerosis , Cholesterol , Cholesterol, HDL , Cholesterol, LDL , Coronary Artery Disease , Coronary Vessels , Creatinine , Dilatation, Pathologic , Glucose , Immunoassay , Inflammation , Plasma , Risk Factors , TriglyceridesABSTRACT
Coronary artery anomalies are uncommon and often asymptomatic. A double right coronary artery (RCA) is an extremely rare coronary artery anomaly, and only a few cases of double RCA have been reported. We report on an atherosclerotic double RCA that appeared after primary percutaneous intervention in a patient with an acute inferior myocardial infarction. This is the second case in the literature in which coronary arteries can be accepted as a double RCA, which were hidden by a total atherosclerotic occlusion in the proximal part of the RCA.