Evaluation of serum lipoprotein (a) in young patients with myocardial infarction

Context: Indians are prone as a community to coronary artery disease (CAD) at a much younger age. CAD is affecting Indians 5-10 years earlier than other communities. Lipoprotein (a) (Lp (a)) is now recognized as an independent risk factor for CAD. It is a genetic risk factor. Aim: We evaluate the Lp (a) in young patients with myocardial infarction (MI). Settings and design: Study population consisted of 50 patients having MI and 50 control groups. Subjects and Methods: Fasting samples were collected from patients and were analyzed for Lp (a), lipid profile, and blood sugar on fully automated analyzer. Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis is carried out by using Student’s t-test. Results: The difference in total cholesterol (P = 0.8192), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (P = 0.11), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (P = 0.8143), triglyceride (P = 0.1177) levels, and total cholesterol/HDLcholesterol ratio (P = 0.2129) were observed between the case and control groups in this study was not statistically significant. The difference in the Lp (a) levels between the case and control groups was highly significant (P-value = 0.0001). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that in young patients with MI there was a male predominance. Lp (a) level is an important and independent risk factor for CAD. Serum Lp (a) level is not dependent on serum total cholesterol level.