RESUMO
Inflammation and infectious agents such as Chlamydia pneumoniae have been associated with cardiovascular disease. To evaluate the serum high sensitivity C - reactive protein [hs-CRP] and antibodies against Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydial heat shock protein-60 [Cp-HSP60] in patients with ischemic heart disease [IHD]. 62 patients with IHD having either acute myocardial infarction [AMI; n=31] or unstable angina [UA; n=31] and 31 sex- and age- matched healthy subjects as a control group were enrolled in this study. Serum samples of participants were tested for the presence of hs-CRP and antibodies against C. pneumoniae and Cp-HSP60 using ELISA method. The seroprevalence of anti-C. pneumoniae antibody in AMI group [93.5%] or UA group [90.3%] was significantly higher than the control group [61.3%; p<0.001]. The seroprevalence of anti-Cp-HSP60 IgG was 22.6% in healthy subjects with mean end titer of 43.1 +/- 6.32. The seropositive rates of anti-Cp-HSP60 were 48.4%, 54.8% and 51.6% in AMI, UA and the overall IHD groups with mean end titers of 94 +/- 22.86, 113.8 +/- 24.25 and 103.9 +/- 16.57, respectively. Both the seroprevalence and the mean titer of anti-Cp-HSP60 in patients groups were significantly higher than those observed in the control group [p<0.04 and p<0.03, respectively]. Moreover, the mean serum hs-CRP levels was significantly higher in the IHD group as compared to the control group [21.6 Mu g/ml +/- 3.73 vs 2.5 Mu g/ml +/- 0.52; p<0.00001]. The mean serum hs-CRP levels of AMI [30.3 Mu g/ml +/- 6.07] or UA [12.9 Mu g/ml +/- 3.85] groups were also significantly higher than those observed in the control group [p<0.00001 and p<0.001, respectively]. Furthermore, the difference of the mean serum hs-CRP levels between AMI and UA groups was also significant [p<0.02]. These results showed that the seroprevalence of antibodies against C. pneumoniae and Cp-HSP60 and the serum levels of hs-CRP and anti-Cp-HSP60 IgG were higher in patients with IHD