The association between lipid profile and severity of coronary artery disease as assessed by angiography

Background: Accumulation of cholesterol rich plaque in the arterial wall is the usual cause of coronary artery disease cardiac events. These plaques are atheromatous narrowing in the arterial lumen that results in reduction of blood supply to myocardial cells, resulting in various presentations of coronary artery diseases according to the number and the degree of coronary vessels occlusion. Aim of the study: To assess the relation of lipid profile and the severity of coronary artery disease as assessed by angiography. Patients and methods: A prospective case-control study involved 223 individuals who underwent elective coronary angiography for angina in Basrah cardiac center from February till end of July 2015. Fasting lipid profile was tested for each patient, in addition to assessment of other coronary artery disease risk factors. The control group included 100 individuals with normal coronary artery angiography were tested for their lipid profile also. Results: Patients were divided according to the number of affected vessel into 4 groups. Group 1: includes those with normal coronary angiography, Group 2: those with single vessel disease Group 3: patients with two vessel disease, Group 4: patient with three vessel disease. Smoking, DM, physical inactivity and hyperlipidemia are strongly related to the severity of CAD while triglyceride level and hypertension was not significantly related. Dyslipidemia was strongly associated with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction and unstable angina. Total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and raised total cholesterol ∕ HDL ratio were found strongly associated with more severe form of coronary artery disease on coronary angiography. Conclusion: Total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol and high TC ∕ HDL ratio were found to be strongly associated with severity of coronary artery disease angiographically.