HIGH ANTICYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) IGG ANTIBODY TITER IS ASSOCIATED WITH CORONARY-ARTERY DISEASE AND MAY PREDICT POST-CORONARY BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY RESTENOSIS

Recent studies have demonstrated that cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA was fo und in atherosclerotic coronary arteries in restenotic lesions, and pr ior infection with CMV could be a strong independent risk factor for r estenosis after coronary atherectomy, We studied the correlation betwe en anti-CMV antibody titer and coronary artery disease, Sixty-five pat ients (50 men and 15 women) with coronary artery disease were enrolled prospectively, All had symptomatic coronary artery disease with an an giographic documentation of a de novo single coronary lesion, All unde rwent balloon coronary angioplasty and were followed for 12 months wit h a thallium perfusion scan 3 months after angioplasty, Patients who h ad recurrent chest pain and/or a positive thallium scan had another co ronary angiography, Blood samples were taken before angiography and 1 and 3 months later, Patients with high anti-CMV titer greater than or equal to 1:800 had a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease (p < 0.001) than seropositive patients with a lower antibody titer (less th an or equal to):400); patients with high antibody titer (greater than or equal to 1:800) had a higher restenosis rate than seropositive pati ents with a low antibody titer (less than or equal to 1:400) (p <0.05) , High antibody titers against CMV (IgG) may be a strong marker for co ronary artery disease, and might predict post-coronary angioplasty res tenosis. These findings support the infectious theory of atheroscleros is (especially with prior CMV infection), and also suggest that a chro nic immunologic response has a role in atherosclerosis and restenosis. (C) 1998 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.