Cystatin C: a better marker to detect coronary artery sclerosis.

Background: Nowadays, early detection and treatment can often keep chronic kidney disease patients from getting worse and prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular disease. Cystatin C (Cys-C) is a new marker for renal dysfunction. This study investigated whether Cys-C played an important role for screening coronary artery disease.

Methods: The consecutive 88 outpatients (51 males and 37 females), who were suspected of having effort angina pectoris or asymptomatic ischemic heart disease, were enrolled. Serum Cys-C, which was obtained within 3 months before coronary angiography, was assessed with the presence or absence of coronary arteriosclerosis, the number of culprit arteries, and blood biochemical parameters.

Results: Mean serum Cys-C was 0.82+/-0.29 mg/l. Significant differences in the estimated creatinine clearance (p=0.036), hemoglobin A1c (p=0.01), left ventricular ejection fraction (p=0.01), creatinine (p=0.007), Cys-C (p=0.006), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (p=0.001) were observed between the patients with or without coronary arteriosclerosis. Serum Cys-C was significantly greater in the multi-vessel disease (MVD) group than the 0 vessel disease (0VD) group (p<0.001). HDL cholesterol was significantly lower in the MVD group than the 0VD and single-vessel disease groups (p=0.002 and p=0.005, respectively).

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest Cys-C might be one of the risk factors for coronary arteriosclerosis in the patients with suspected ischemic heart disease without any history of coronary artery disease. Cys-C was a useful marker to detect coronary artery disease and the level of Cys-C could reflect the severity of coronary arteriosclerosis.