title: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, coronary atherosclerosis, and cardiac mortality.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test whether the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is related to the extension of coronary atherosclerosis (ATS) and predicts cardiac mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hospital-based, retrospective observational (median follow up: 92 months) cohort study. In 1726 consecutive patients undergoing angiography, coronary ATS and subsequent mortality were related to ESR and to classical risk factors. Patients (n=269) undergoing angiography for reasons different from ischemic heart disease (IHD), served as control. ESR was progressively higher in the presence of 1, 2, or 3-vessel disease. Age-and sex-adjusted ESR was positively related to ATS both in univariate analysis (r=0.17, p<0.0001) and in a multivariate model including principal risk factors (partial r=0.11, p<0.0001). Similar associations were observed in the control group. Over the follow-up period, 170 patients died of a cardiac cause. When male and female patients in their upper ESR quartile (>18 and >23mm/h, respectively) were compared with the remainder of the cohort, their age-and gender-adjusted odds ratio for cardiac mortality was 1.72 (CI=1.25-2.38, p=0.0008). This result held true, in men, also when using a full set of risk factors in a Cox model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ESR is an independent correlate of coronary ATS and, in male patients with probable IHD, a predictor of cardiac death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy. anatali@ifc.cnr.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Natali
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: L'Abbate
authors.forename: Ele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferrannini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001799:Blood Sedimentation; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality*; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000097:blood / Q000401:mortality; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012907:Smoking; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol