Associations of plasma C-reactive protein levels with the presence and extent of coronary stenosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Prospective studies showed plasma high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels to be a powerful predictor of cardiac events. However, the association between hsCRP levels and the extent of coronary stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains controversial. We investigated the association between hsCRP levels and the extent of coronary stenosis in 273 patients undergoing elective coronary angiography. Plasma hsCRP levels were higher in patients with CAD than in those without CAD (0.70 mg/l versus 0.56 mg/l, P < 0.02), but hsCRP levels did not correlate with the number of >50% stenotic vessels and were not a significant factor for CAD. However, after the exclusion of 76 patients taking statins, a step-wise increase in hsCRP levels was found depending on the number of >50% stenotic vessels: 0.50 in CAD(−), 0.68 in 1-vessel, 0.77 in 2-vessel, and 0.88 mg/l in 3-vessel disease (P < 0.01). The hsCRP levels also correlated with the numbers of >50% and >25% stenotic segments (r = 0.30 and 0.32, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed the hsCRP levels to be a significant factor for CAD. Thus, after the exclusion of patients with statins, plasma hsCRP levels were found to be associated with the presence and extent of coronary stenosis in patients with stable CAD.