Blood Count-Derived Inflammatory Markers and Acute Complications of Ischemic Heart Disease in Elderly Women

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Women are less likely to be correctly diagnosed with and subsequently treated for coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD is a result of atherosclerosis, a chronic disease of the arterial wall with a significant inflammatory component. Its complication, acute coronary syndrome (ACS), was described to be connected with inflammation in women more often than in men. Thus, a simple marker based on accessible laboratory tests, like total blood count, may be of great use. This paper describes an association between ACS occurrence and systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI), systemic inflammatory reaction index (SII), monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), as well as it looks for the relationship between these and classic CAD risk factors. Our results suggest that with further well-designed research, the abovementioned markers may become a new CAD risk factor in elderly women. ABSTRACT: Coronary artery disease (CAD) in women occurs later than in men. Underlying atherosclerosis, a chronic process of lipoprotein deposition in arterial walls with a prominent inflammatory component, is influenced by several risk factors. In women, commonly used inflammatory markers are generally found to be related to the occurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), as well as the development of other diseases that influence CAD. New inflammatory markers derived from total blood count—systemic inflammatory response index (SII), systemic inflammatory reaction index (SIRI), monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)—were analyzed in the group of 244 elderly, postmenopausal women with the diagnosis of ACS or stable CAD. SII, SIRI, MLR, and NLR were significantly higher in women with ACS compared to those with stable CAD (p < 0.05 for all)—the highest values were observed in women with NSTEMI. MLR from new inflammatory markers, HDL, and history of MI turned out to be significant factors associated with ACS. These results suggest that MLR as representative of blood count-derived inflammatory markers may be considered as additional CVD risk factors in women with suspected ACS.