The T allele of the missense Glu(298)Asp endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism is associated with coronary heart disease in younger individuals with high atherosclerotic risk profile.

Aims: Nitric oxide (NO) plays a protective role during atherogenesis. In the endothelium, NO is synthesised by the constitutive NO synthase (ecNOS). We analysed the relation of the ecNOS Glu(298)Asp and 4a/b gene polymorphisms to coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI) in a population of 3250 German subjects (533 healthy controls and 2717 individuals who underwent coronary angiography).