The value of YKL-40 in ischemic heart disease patients

Introduction Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is considered to be the most common cause of myocardial ischemia. YKL-40, a chitin-binding acute phase glycoprotein, has been found to be expressed by macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques. The YKL-40 could potentially be a new useful biomarker to monitor severity and predict early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients. Aim The aim of this study was to measure the level of serum YKL-40 in IHD patients and to clarify its role as a potentially beneficial diagnostic marker in those patients. Patients and methods Serum YKL-40 was measured in 60 IHD patients and 30 healthy controls. According to chest pain analysis, ECG changes, and cardiac enzymes, the IHD patients were categorized into patients with stable angina and patients with ACS. Results The median level of YKL-40 (pg/ml) was significantly elevated in patients with IHD compared with the control group (2080 (575.5–5974.6) vs 522.6 (133.2–769.5), respectively; P