Mean platelet volume in patients with coronary artery ectasia.

BACKGROUND: Mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indicator of platelet activation, a central process in the pathophysiology of coronary heart disease. The importance of coronary artery ectasia (CAE) lies in the fact that in 85% of cases it is accompanied by atherosclerotic coronary disease. The present study was designed to investigate MPV values in CAE patients in comparison with individuals with normal coronary angiograms.

MATERIAL/METHODS: MPV was measured in 67 consecutive patients (mean age: 55.3+/-9.7 years) with isolated CAE and 55 control subjects (mean age: 53.6+/-10.1 years). Coronary artery ectasia was defined as without any stenotic lesion, on visual assessment, of the coronary arteries with a luminal dilatation 1.5-fold or more of the adjacent normal coronary segments. Four subgroups were composed according to the extension of CAE in coronary arteries.

RESULTS: MPV was significantly higher in patients with CAE than in the control group (9.27+/-1.32 vs. 8.40+/-0.95, p<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in MPV among the subgroups with different CAE severity.

CONCLUSIONS: It was shown for the first time that patients with CAE have higher MPVs than control subjects with normal coronary angiograms. Hence MPV might be used as a follow-up marker in patients with CAE with or without coronary artery disease.