An original biomarker for the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and their complications: Telomere length

AIM: The aim of this work was to study the effect of telomere length in the chromosomes of nuclear blood cells in individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) on the development of cardiovascular complications (CVC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: DNA was isolated from nuclear blood cells of 498 study participants. The telomere length was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The investigation of each sample was repeated three times. Five years after the end of this study, a telephone survey of 119 patients with CHD was conducted in order to obtain data on the presence of CVC. RESULTS: According to the results obtained, a decrease in telomere length in patients with coronary heart disease increases the risk of subsequent development of cardiovascular complications. CONCLUSION: Patients with coronary heart disease with shorter telomeres compared with conventionally healthy study participants had an increased risk of cardiovascular complications within 5 years after telomere analysis.