C-reactive protein as a marker in acute coronary syndromes

ABSTRACT

As traditional atherogenic risk factors such as hypertension, smoking, dyslipedemia and diabetes mellitus do not fully account for clinical occurrence of Coronary Heart Disease [CHD] in different populations, hence there was an intensive search for potential novel cardiovascular risk factors. During last few years, C-Reactive Protein [CRP] have been implicated as risk factors in causation of coronary heart disease. Present study comprised of eighty-eight subjects admitted to coronary care unit who were subsequently divided into three groups based on their diagnosis Group A; patients with acute myocardial infarction; Group B patients with unstable angina and Group C-subjects as control. CRP levels were measured at the time of admission using an ELISA kit. The concentration of CRP was elevated in patients with acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina as compared to the Control Group [p<0.001]. And also the incidence of in-hospital recurrent ischaemic events had been observed significantly more in patients with an elevated CRP levels. The study indicates that C-reactive protein levels measured at the time of admission in patients with suspected ischaemic heart disease could be a marker for acute coronary syndromes, and helpful in identifying patients at high risk for recurrent ischaemia. Therefore, it is concluded that measurement of CRP levels may have practical clinical significance in the management of patients hospitalized for suspected acute coronary syndromes