Abstract
Vascular inflammation and associated ongoing inflammatory responses are considered as the critical culprits in the pathogenesis of acute atherothrombotic events such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and myocardial infarction (MI). ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is considered as one of the prominent clinical forms of ACS. Moreover, C-reactive protein (CRP) is an important acute phase prsotein, which may be estimated using high-sensitivity methods (hs-CRP), and its elevated level in body fluids reflects chronic inflammatory status. The circulating hs-CRP level has been proposed as a promising inflammatory marker of coronary artery disease (CAD). The present study investigated the correlation of hs-CRP level with clinical and angiographic features of STEMI, various other traditional risk factors, complications of myocardial infarction and angiographically significant CAD. Out of 190 patients with STEMI that were analyzed, the interval between symptom onset and reperfusion therapy (window period) varied from 0.5 to 24 h. The hs-CRP value was found to be higher in non-diabetic patients (0.61 mg/dl) compared with diabetic patients (0.87 mg/dl). Moreover, a significant correlation between hs-CRP and hs-troponin T was also recorded (P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the mean hs-CRP values in patients with or without mortality. It is considered that the present study will increase the understanding of atherosclerosis in general and may also have clinical applications in the targeting of therapy for this harmful disease.