Relationship between elevated platelet volume and saphenous vein graft disease

Background: Saphenous vein graft (SVG) disease is the major determinant of long term graft viability in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Although, platelets play a major role in this pathogenetic process the nature of this interaction has not been yet been clarified. Mean platelet volume (MPV) reflects platelet production rate and stimulation. This study was designed to investigate MPV in patients with late stage SVG disease. Methods: The study population composed of 188 patients who underwent elective coronary angiography more than one year after coronary artery bypass surgery. The study population was divided in to two groups according to SVG patency. The first group consisted of 90 patients (75 men, 15 women; mean age, 63.4 ± 9.2 years) with patent SVG’s (no-stenosis group). The second group consisted of 98 patients (80 men, 18 women; mean age, 62.1 ± 10.1 years) with SVG stenosis based on the results of coronary angiography (stenosis group). Gretaer than 50% stenosis within the SVG was accepted as hemodynamically significant. Results: MPV were significantly higher in patients with SVG disease in comparison with the patients without graft disease group (9.3 ± 1.19 vs. 8.3 ± 1.10 fl, respectively, p < 0.001). In a multiple regression model, SVG disease was independently associated with MPV (β=0.837, p=0.05) along with LDL-cholesterol (β=0.159, p=0.008) and time interval after bypass surgery (β=-0.092, p=0.05). Conclusion: Platelet volume, and therefore platelet activation, appears to play a causal role in late SVG disease graft disease; hence, MPV may be useful as a post-operative marker of graft success