title: Serum total bilirubin levels and disease severity in patients with stable coronary artery disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Serum total bilirubin (STB), a protective cardiovascular factor, was retrospectively investigated to determine the relationship between STB levels and the severity of disease in Chinese patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 347 eligible patients presenting to our department from December 2007 to December 2012 were divided into tertiles according to their Syntax scores (low, moderate, and high). To clarify the association between STB levels and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), all patients were divided into two groups according to the median baseline STB (greater than or less than 13.2 μmol/l), which was measured after at least 12-h fast. All participants were followed for a mean of 37.1 months for MACE, including all-cause death, recurrent nonfatal myocardial infarction, and recurrent percutaneous coronary intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The STB levels were significantly lower in the high Syntax score group than those of the other groups and were negatively correlated with the Syntax score and number of diseased vessels. Follow-up data showed a higher incidence of MACE in the low STB group compared with the high STB group. Elevated STB levels predict the long-term prognosis of patients with stable angina pectoris. Finally, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significantly higher event-free survival rate in the patients with high STB levels than those in the low STB group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  STB levels were independently associated with the severity of disease in patients with stable CAD. Elevated STB is associated with cardiovascular events and may be useful as a biomarker of the severity and prognosis of stable CAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, 100191, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, 100191, Beijing, China. sister.han@medmail.com.cn.
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, 100191, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: G-S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, 100191, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: L-J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Peking University Third Hospital; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health; Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education, 100191, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015984:Causality; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality*; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001663:Bilirubin
keywords: Major adverse cardiovascular event; Myocardial infarction; Percutaneous coronary intervention; Prognosis; Syntax scores