“Correlation of red blood cell distribution width with the severity of coronary artery disease—A single center study”

OBJECTIVE: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality all around the world. We evaluated the correlation of Red blood cell Distribution Width (RDW) with the severity of lesion on coronary angiography as assessed by Modified Gensini score (MGS) in CAD patients. METHODS: A total of 576 consecutive patients admitted in Department of Cardiology over a period of one year, who underwent coronary angiography after diagnosis of CAD or presence of angina like chest pain and/or positive treadmill test were enrolled in the study (August 2014–May 2015). Patients were divided into two groups, with CAD (Group A) and without CAD (Group B). The RDW Cofficience of variance (RDW CV) and RDW standard deviatiton (RDW SD) of each patient, and their correlation with severity of CAD was assessed. RESULTS: Of the total 576 patients enrolled, 438 were in Group A and 138 were in Group B. The mean age of presentation in Group A and Group B was (53.64 ± 10.36 vs 49.4 ± 9.73) years (p < 0.0001). The Male and Female ratio overall was 2.42:1. Patients in Group A had significantly elevated RDW CV and RDW SD levels compared with those in Group B [(14.59 ± 1.04)% vs (13.6 ± 0.68)%, p < 0.0001], [(45.78 ± 4.76) vs (40.77 ± 3.01), p < 0.0001 respectively]. A significant positive correlation between RDW CV, RDW SD and MGS was noted (r = 0.33, p < 0.0001) (r = 0.43, p < 0.0001) respectively. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, RDW was demonstrated to be an independent predictor for angiographic CAD (OR = 4.17, 95% CI 3.05–5.69, p < 0.0001). On receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, an RDW value of 14.3% was identified as an effective cut off point in diagnosing CAD with a sensitivity of 58.9% and specificity of 84.8%. CONCLUSIONS: RDW is an independent predictor of CAD and severity of coronary stenosis, suggesting that it can be a readily available marker for prediction and severity of CAD.