LIPOPROTEIN (a) LEVELS AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE IN IRANIAN PATIENTS. IS THERE A LINK?

Lipoprotein(a), an LDL variant, has been claimed to have a role in atherogenesis and therefore coronary artery disease (CAD). However, its production and atherogenecity seems to vary among ethnic groups. In order to study the possible correlation between levels of Lp(a) and CAD in Iranian patients who suffered myocardial infarction (MI), a case-control study was carried out on 120 MI patients and 120 matched healthy subjects. Levels of Lp(a) were significantly higher in the MI patients than the control group (P < 0.0001), which demonstrates a possible correlation between levels of Lp(a) and CAD. Estimation of Lp (a) may be helpful in evaluating the risk of CAD, particularly in those patients with borderline levels of triglycerides and cholesterol.