Plasma homocysteine is not a predictive factor of restenosis after coronary angioplasty.

Hyper-homocysteinaemia is a cardiovascular risk factor. In parallel, anatom opathological studies of post-angioplasty coronary restenosis show histolog ical appearances similar to those observed in patients with severe hyper-ho mocysteinaemia. Based on these histological observations, the authors tried to assess the predictive value of raised plasma homocysteine levels for co ronary restenosis after angioplasty. Two hundred and twenty-two patients treated by coronary angioplasty were fo llowed up clinically for 6 months. Thallium 201 myocardial scintigraphy was performed in 179 patients and coronary angiography in 74 patients. Seventy -nine patients had coronary restenosis diagnosed by coronary angiography in SS cases, by myocardial scintigraphy in 23 cases and strongly suspected cl inically in only one patient. No significant differences in homocysteine le vels were observed between patients with multiple restenosis or requiring r evascularisation, and those without restenosis and not requiring revascular isation. Plasma homocysteine does not therefore seem to be a predictive factor of po stangioplasty coronary restenosis.