Abstract
In 120 patients with myocardial infarction (MI), we studied (1) the incidence of patients with normal cholesterol (T.C.) level, (2) HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) level in these patients and (3) correlation between T. C. and coronary arteriosclerosis on the one hand and HDL-C and coronary arteriosclerosis on the other.
The cases in which T. C. levels on the day of onset of MI were not more than 220mg/dl numbered 59 (67%) out of 88 patients.
More than two months after the onset of the disease the T. C. level generally rose, but 32 patients (36.4%) did not show high T. C. level (220mg/dl or more).
As to the fluctuations in the T. C. level after the onset of the disease, minimum level was shown within one week in 6 (20%) and within one week to one month in 8 (27%), while the T. C. level remained unchanged or rose in 16 (53%) out of 30 cases of which T. C. on the day of onset was not more than 220mg/dl.
In the cases of which T. C. level was not less than 220mg/dl, meanwhile, the greater part of cases (9 out of 17 cases) showed minimum level within one week to one month and the rate of the T. C. falling off was also conspicuous compared with the cases of which T. C. level was not more than 220mg/dl.
With males, the T. C. level for those aged under 60 years was 243.2±73.6mg/dl and that for those above 60 years of age was 185.5±48.9mg/dl, the former showing a significantly high level (p<0.01).
As for the HDL-C level, there was no significant difference between the two groups, but the HDL-C/T. C ratio was high (p<0.05) in the group of patients aged above 60 years (18.8±6.6%) contrary to the result of the T.C level.
With males, a significant negative correlation was observed between the T. C level and the HDL-C/T.C ratio (r=-0.643, p<0.01).
Regarding the correlation between the T.C. level and the number of coronary arteries involved, the lower the T.C level, the more the case of one vessel disease, and as the T.C level rose, the case of 2 vessel or 3 vessel disease increased in number.
As to the correlation between the HDL-C and the number of coronary arteries involved, the more the HDL-C level rose, the less became the number of coronary arteries involved, but there were some exceptional cases, and the negative correlation was not as close as that observed between the HDL-C/T.C ratio and the number of coronary arteries involved.
There was no correlation between triglyceride and the number of coronary arteries involved.
