Association between plasma lipoprotein(a) level and severity of coronary artery disease

Objective To study the possible association between plasma lipoprotein(a) level and severity of coronary arteriosclerosis in Chinese elderly patients. Methods 308 old patients undergoing selecting coronary angiography were enrolled in this study.The old patients were classified according to gender and the numbers and extents of coronary artery with stenosis.The difference of the level of Lp(a) between female and male was analyzed.The possible correlation between plasma Lp(a) level and coronary stenosis score was studied. Results The plasma Lp(a) level increased with the numbers or extents of coronary stenosis in both female and male.Plasma Lp(a) level was the highest in the three-vessel group and the fourth group.There were significant difference in Lp(a) among groups with different degree of stenosis(P0.01).The level of Lp(a) was positively related with the severity of coronary heart disease. Conclusions In both female and male of Chinese,a positive correlation exists between plasma Lp(a) level and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis.Plasma Lp(a) is an independent risk factor and may become a marker to assess the risk of coronary artery disease.