C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN ESTIMATING INFLAMMATORY STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME C-REAKTIVNI PROTEIN U PROCENI STEPENA INFLAMACIJE KOD PACIJENATA S AKUTNIM KORONARNIM SINDROMOM

Summary: Chronic inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and is considered as a risk factor for the occurrence of acute coronary events, together with traditional risk factors such as age, smoking, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus and genetic predisposition. In this study, inflammatory status was estimated in patients with acute coronary syndrome. C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and white blood cell count were measured at admission to the hospital in 25 patients with unstable angina pectoris and 31 patients with acute myocardial infarction, and compared with healthy control group (n = 59). C-reactive protein was the only parameter that differed significantly between all three groups (p < 0.0001), and patients with unstable angina had higher levels (median 7.28 mg/L) than patients with myocardial infarction (4.10 mg/L) and control group (1.07 mg/L). The obtained results show that levels of chronic inflammation in patients with acute coronary syndrome are significantly higher than baseline inflammation levels in a healthy population.