抄録
Background: Highly purified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is a promising agent for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), a measure of red blood cell size heterogeneity, has been shown to be associated with the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease. In the present study, we investigated whether EPA affects red blood cell size heterogeneity and vascular endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease. Methods and Results: Among the 30 patients with coronary artery disease with an EPA/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio <0.4, 19 patients were administered with EPA (1800 mg/d) (EPA group); the remaining 11 patients received no intervention (control group). During a follow-up period of 36±14 mo, the EPA/AA ratio increased in the EPA group (P<0.001) but did not change in the control group. The flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) value also increased in the EPA group (P<0.05) but not in the control group. The RDW value did not change in either group. In 15 patients with a baseline RDW value greater than the median (12.8), 8 in the EPA group had a decreased RDW value (P<0.05), while 7 in the corresponding control group had an unchanged RDW value. In all patients, the change in FMD was negatively correlated with that in RDW (R=-0.39, P<0.05). Conclusions: EPA improved red blood cell size heterogeneity as well as vascular endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease. The improvements were correlated with each other.
