Comparison of Plasma Level of hs-CRP in Subjects with Slow Coronary Flow and Normal Coronary Flow

Slow Coronary Flow (SCF) is defined as a condition in which in spite of no evidence of coronary occlusion or stenosis in angiography, there is delayed opacification of the vessels after the injection of a radiocontrast agent. First endothelial dysfunction and later on inflammation and platelet dysfunction have been proposed in the pathogenesis of this phenomenon. Because of a lack of enough studies about this disorder and controversy in reports, in the present study the prevalence rate of SCF and the probable role of inflammatory factors were investigated in order to identify the etiology of SCF and improve the treatment process of patients.This descriptive-analytic study was performed by studying the angiograms of 1162 patients with a probable diagnosis of coronary vessels stenosis who underwent coronary angiography in Shafa Hospital (Kerman/Iran). Angiography was performed by standard method of Judkins technique and statistical analysis was done to find the cut-off point value for the selection of the SCF group. After the angiograms had been examined by two cardiologists, 40 individuals with SCF and 40 ones with normal coronary flow (NCF) were investigated. The prevalence rate of SCF in the subjects that underwent angiography was 4.13% and 60% of them were male. Plasma level of hs-CRP in both study groups was slightly higher than the normal and there was no significant difference between the two groups.The role of inflammatory factors as an underlying factor in the incidence of SCF was not confirmed.