Inflammatory Markers in Men with Angiographically Documented Coronary

rosis is a chronic inflammatory process. In this study, we examined several markers of inflammation in men with coronary heart disease (CHD) and appropriate controls. Methods: The concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and soluble intracellular adhesion molecule (sICAM-1) were examined in 100 men with angiographically docu-mented CHD and 100 age-, gender-, and smoking-matched controls with no history of CHD. We assessed the association of these markers with severity of disease as indicated by>50 % obstruction in one vessel (n 5 30), two vessels (n 5 39), or three vessels (n 5 31). Results: Significant increases were noted in serum CRP (median for cases vs controls, 3.4 vs 1.5 mg/L; P <0.0001), SAA (5.9 vs 3.7 mg/L; P <0.005), and IL-6 (2.3 vs 1.7 ng/L