Abstract:We examined whether an increase in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) predicts long-term prognosis in patients with stable angina pectoris. hs-CRP is an inflammatory marker that predicts future cardiovascular events in healthy subjects and patients with unstable and stable coronary syndromes. Long-term evaluation of pre-and postprocedural inflammatory markers has not been widely reported. In particular, the effect of the magnitude of increase in hs-CRP after PCI in stable patients is unknown. We prospectively analyzed 89 stable patients treated by PCI for stable angina pectoris. Patients were recruited between August 1998 and May 1999, and the population was followed until August 2005 (mean follow-up 79.5 ± 10.3 months). A major adverse cardiac event (MACE) was defined as the occurrence of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, or recurrent angina requiring repeat PCI or coronary artery bypass grafting. During the follow-up period, 36 patients presented with 1 MACE. In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of the occurrence of MACEs were previous myocardial infarction and a significant increase in hs-CRP after PCI (p = 0.004 and 0.003, respectively). A significant increase in hs-CRP after PCI was found to be more predictive of MACEs than hs-CRP before and after PCI. In conclusion, in stable coronary artery disease, inflammation is associated with long-term adverse events, but the magnitude of the inflammatory reaction after PCI appears more predictive than the baseline value.A previous study 1 has reported that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) increases after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with unstable angina pectoris and high baseline hs-CRP levels, but not in those with normal baseline hs-CRP. An increase in hs-CRP levels after PCI in this unstable condition does not seem to be related to the treated plaque but may rather be a marker of the inflammatory state. In stable coronary artery disease, it is unknown whether the magnitude of increase in hs-CRP after PCI provides independent prognostic information. The purposes of this study were to analyze the long-term prognostic importance of preand postprocedural hs-CRP and of the magnitude of hs-CRP increase in patients treated by elective PCI for stable angina pectoris.
Methods and ResultsBetween August 1998 and May 1999, we prospectively analyzed 89 consecutive patients who were referred for coronary angiography for stable angina and exercise-induced ischemia. They underwent PCI of 1 coronary stenosis. Exclusion criteria were age 80 years, history of acute coronary syndrome with or without ST-segment elevation within the previous year, treatment for restenosis, coronary artery bypass grafting, or PCI within the previous 6 months, heart failure of New York Heart Association class 3, or known malignant or inflammatory disorders. Six-year follow-up was obtained in all patients by inspection of medical records. To ensure that no deaths were missed, the general ...