Clinical Chemistry, Vol 17, 206-209, Copyright © 1971 by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry

Serum Lipid Concentrations in Patients with Coronary Arteriosclerosis Demonstrated by Coronary Arteriography

¹ Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratories, St. Mary’s Hospital, Minneapolis, Minn. 55406.

The frequency of abnormal serum lipid concentrations in patients with coronary artery disease demonstrated by coronary arteriography was compared with that for normal control subjects and arteriographically normal patients. Triglycerides were supranormal in over half of the patients with demonstrable coronary artery disease, compared with only about a quarter of the subjects in the control group. Incidence of enhanced serum cholesterol was not significantly different in the two groups. These data support the observations of others who found that triglycerides are elevated more frequently than cholesterol in patients with coronary artery disease. Coronary arteriography enables the more precise diagnosis of coronary arteriosclerosis when attempting a correlation of serum lipid concentrations with coronary artery disease. Selection of subjects in this manner avoids the problem of the falsely low incidence of lipid abnormalities seen when patients are included who have normal coronary arteries. Of the subjects in this series in whom coronary arteriography was performed, 23% were found not to have coronary arteriosclerosis. However, patients who have undergone angiocardiographic studies are a highly selected group with special characteristics, and cannot be considered a representative sample of patients with coronary artery disease.

Submitted on October 27, 1970
Accepted on December 31, 1970