Association between Serum Iron and the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease.
BACKGROUND
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most important cause of mortality in the world. About half of cardiovascular risk factors have not been completely understood. Oxidation of LDL by oxidants such as iron plays a central role in atherogenesis. As a result, evaluation of the iron stores is important in the risk evaluation of the atherosclerotic disease.


METHODS
This cross sectional study was performed on 337 patients with chronic stable angina hospitalized in Sari heart center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences from February 2010 to July 2012. Coronary angiography was performed and the angiograms were evaluated by two cardiologists. Moreover, blood samples were collected after a 14-hour fast immediately before the coronary angiography in order to measure the total cholesterol, HDL- cholesterol, and glucose. The patients were divided into four groups to evaluate the severity of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) according to Syntax scoring system.


RESULTS
The study results revealed a significant difference among the four study groups regarding the iron serum level. It was significantly higher in the sever atherosclerosis group compared to the normal (P=0.0122), mild (P=0.023), and moderate CAD groups (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicated that the serum level of iron was higher in the atherosclerotic patients and increased with the severity of CAD. Therefore, a basic relationship probably exists between the serum iron level and CAD. Further prospective and experimental studies are needed to confirm the association between the iron status and atherosclerosis.
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Babak
B
Bagheri
Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Mohammad
M
Shokrzadeh
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Vahid
V
Mokhberi
Department of Medical Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Soheil
S
Azizi
Department of Statistics, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Alireza
A
Khalilian
Department of Cardiology, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Negin
N
Akbari
Student Research Committee, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Valiallah
V
Habibi
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Keyvan
K
Yousefnejad
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Sasan
S
Tabiban
Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, IR Iran.
Maryam
M
Nabati
Coronary Artery Diseas; Iron; Risk Factors