engleski

Aging and inflammatory markers in patients with acute coronary syndromes

Objective: Increasing age is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms of risk are still not well understood. Rising levels of inflammatory markers might be responsible for the excess in thrombotic events that develops with aging. Methods: 2862 patients (pts) with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), 62% males: 1553 with ST-eleva-tion myocardial infarction, 397 with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction, 912 with unstable angina, were included in the study. Fibrinogen, determined using the Clauss assay, and high-sensitive C- reactive protein (hsCRP), determined by immunoturbidimetric method, were obtained at the time of admission. Patients were divided into four groups: A<55 years of age (592 pts), B 55-64 years (706 pts), C 65-74 years (930 pts), D > 75 years (634 pts). Results: Significant difference (P<0.01) was obtained between groups for both fibrinogen and hsCRP, the highest values obtained in groups C and D, which persisted after adjusting for sex, cardiovascular risk factors (diabetes mellitus, smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia) and type of ACS (N-way ANOVA). Both fibrinogen and hsCRP correlated significantly (Pearson correlation test) with advancing age (r=0.18 for both fibrinogen and hsCRP, PO.001). Conclusions: Advanced age is associated with higher levels of fibrinogen and C-reactive protein in patients with acute coronary syndromes. This may partly explain the elevated incidence and more common complications of cardiovascular disease in the elderly.

inflammatory markers; acute coronary syndrome

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