Objective: Endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress are involved in atherogenesis. In the search for predictors of vascular disease markers for endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress were analyzed.
Methods: Of 208 consecutive patients 22% were controls (CO) without coronary artery disease (CAD), 52% presented with stable angina (SAP) and 26% had acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Nitric oxide (NO), thrombomodulin (TM), von Willebrand factor (vW), sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, sP-selectin, sE-selectin, sL-selectin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined as markers for endothelial dysfunction, glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (Gpx), myeloperoxidase (Mpx), lipid peroxides (Lpx), 8-isoprostane (Iso), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and homocysteine (Hc) as markers for oxidative stress.
Results: The increases of TM, vW, sVCAM-1, CRP, SOD and Mpx correlated with the CAD status in the order CO < SAP < ACS, whereas NO and sL-selectin were inversely correlated (p < 0.05, resp.). The other markers remained unchanged. For several markers a significant relationship to risk factors was detected.
Conclusions: Markers for endothelial dysfunction rather than those for oxidative stress may serve as indicators for the presence and severity of CAD.