Lipoprotein Profiles before Heparin Administration in Patients with or without Coronary Thrombosis Following Atherosclerosis

Objective: The correlation between lipoproteins and arterial thrombosis is not fully elucidated, and no data exist in terms of lipoprotein profiles before heparin administration in patients with coronary arterial thrombosis (CAT). This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the lipoprotein profile before heparin administration in 63 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with CAT. Methods: The lipoprotein profile was measured via polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis prior to heparin administration for primary percutaneous coronary intervention for STEMI. Age- and sex-matched subjects with <25% stenosis in stable coronary artery disease were enrolled as controls. Results: In the pre-heparin serum, the fraction of very-low-density lipoprotein (P=0.75) in STEMI patients was not different from that in controls, and the fraction of intermediate-density lipoprotein (P<0.01) in STEMI patients was significantly lower than that in controls. Although the fraction of small dense low-density lipoprotein (s-LDL) in STEMI patients was significantly higher than that in controls (P<0.01), 44% (28/63) of STEMI patients were negative for s-LDL. Conclusion: Although lipoproteins are a risk factor for atherosclerosis, lipoprotein profiles with CAT following atherosclerosis in STEMI are different from those profiles without CAT in stable coronary artery disease.