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The prevalence of homocysteinemia and hypercholesterolemia in angiographically defined coronary heart disease

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Summary

Total serum homocysteine and cholesterol levels were determined in 163 male patients with typical angina who were subjected to coronary angiography. The prevalence of homocysteinemia in coronary heart disease (CHD) was 41.9%. Serum homocysteine levels were significantly elevated (p<0.05) in patients with major occlusion in two or three coronary arteries. Furthermore, the prevalence of homocysteinemia correlated positively (p<0.05) with the number of coronary vessels that were occluded. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 34.9%, but, in contrast to homocysteinemia, no graded strength of association with the number of stenotic coronary arteries could be demonstrated. The results suggest that homocysteinemia may contribute significantly to the development of coronary heart disease.

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Abbreviations

CHD:

coronary heart disease

HPLC:

highperformance liquid chromatography

MTHF:

methylenetetrahydrofolate

SD:

standard deviation

SBD-F:

ammonium 7-fluoro 2-oxa-1,3 diazole-4-sulphonate

TC:

total cholesterol

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Pathology and the Hans Snyckers Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa

    J. B. Ubbink, W. J. H. Vermaak, D. A. van Staden & S. Bissbort

  2. Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa

    J. M. Bennett

  3. Institute for Biostatistics, Medical Research Council, Pretoria

    P. J. Becker

Authors
  1. J. B. Ubbink
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  2. W. J. H. Vermaak
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  3. J. M. Bennett
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  4. P. J. Becker
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  5. D. A. van Staden
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  6. S. Bissbort
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Ubbink, J.B., Vermaak, W.J.H., Bennett, J.M. et al. The prevalence of homocysteinemia and hypercholesterolemia in angiographically defined coronary heart disease. Klin Wochenschr 69, 527–534 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01649290

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01649290

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