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. 2006 Dec 20;1(1):e83.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000083.

Hyperhomocysteinemia and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting

Domenico Girelli  1 , Nicola Martinelli, Oliviero Olivieri, Francesca Pizzolo, Simonetta Friso, Giovanni Faccini, Claudia Bozzini, Ilaria Tenuti, Valentina Lotto, Giuliano Villa, Patrizia Guarini, Elisabetta Trabetti, Pier Franco Pignatti, Alessandro Mazzucco, Roberto Corrocher
Affiliations

Hyperhomocysteinemia and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting

Domenico Girelli et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The independent prognostic impact, as well as the possible causal role, of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) in coronary artery disease (CAD) is controversial. No previous study specifically has addressed the relationship between HHcy and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic impact of HHcy after CABG surgery.

Methodology and principal findings: We prospectively followed 350 patients who underwent elective CABG between May 1996 and May 1999. At baseline, fasting total homocysteine (tHcy) levels were measured in all participants, and a post-methionine loading (PML) test was performed in 77.7% of them (n = 272). After a median follow-up of 58 months, 33 patients (9.4%) had died, 25 because of cardiovascular events. HHcy, defined by levels higher than the 90th percentile (25.2 micromol/L) of the population's distribution, was significantly associated to total and cardiovascular mortality (P = 0.018 [log-rank test 5.57]; P = 0.002 [log-rank test 9.76], respectively). The PML test had no prognostic value. After multiple adjustment for other univariate predictors by Cox regression, including statin therapy (the most powerful predictor in uni-/multivariate analyses), high-sensitivity C Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) levels, and all known major genetic (MTHFR 677C-->T polymorphism) and non-genetic (B-group vitamin status and renal function) tHcy determinants, HHcy remained an independent prognostic factor for mortality (HRs: 5.02, 95% CIs 1.88 to 13.42, P = 0.001).

Conclusions: HHcy is an important prognostic marker after CABG, independent of modern drug therapy and biomarkers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Kaplan-Meier survival plots for total mortality (A–B) and cardiovascular death (C–D) in relation to tHcy levels.
Cutoff points for tHcy strata at 25.2 µmol/l in plots A and C, at 15 and 25.2 µmol/l in plots B and D.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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