ASSOCIATION OF LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL AND TRIGLYCERIDES WITH THE SEVERITY OF CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE IN MEN AND WOMEN

The differences between the lipid profiles of male and female patients and the effect of plasma lipids on the extent of coronary artery dise ase were evaluated in 122 angiographically assessed coronary artery di sease patients (95 males and 27 females) and 60 controls. Both male an d female patients had lower HDL-cholesterol and higher total cholester ol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL-cholesterol and VLDL-triglycer ide concentrations than the controls. The VLDL lipid values did not di ffer significantly between the male patients with different extent of CAD, whereas the VLDL lipid values of female patients tended to increa se with an increasing severity of CAD. High Lp(a) (greater than or equ al to 35 mg/dl) values were more prevalent in patients with > 50% coro nary stenosis compared to patients with < 50% stenosis and the control s (29%, 17% and 12%, respectively). The apolipoprotein E phenotypes an d epsilon allele frequencies were similar in the patients and the cont rols. Low HDL-cholesterol and high LDL-cholesterol are CAD risk factor s for both sexes. For women, elevated VLDL-triglycerides seem to be an additional risk factor for CAD.