Comparison of parathyroid hormone in angiographically-demonstrated coronary artery disease patients and healthy Thais.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) influences the calcium metabolism. The idea of cardiovascular effects of PTH is not new. Target cells for PTH are cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells. Evidence from previous studies suggest that many patients with heart disease have elevated PTH concentrations. Our objective was to determine PTH status in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We compared intact PTH levels in 109 CAD patients with 103 healthy people by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Mean values of PTH in healthy Thais and CAD patients were 37.4 +/- 17.9 and 40.2 +/- 21.8 respectively. No statistical difference was shown. In addition, we compared PTH levels among various numbers of coronary occlusion and also found no differences. We propose that intact PTH concentrations in CAD patients are not higher than in the healthy population.