ASSESSMENT OF TRIGLYCERIDE TO HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN RATIO AS AN INDICATOR OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND ITS SEVERITY

Objectives: To evaluate the TG/HDL ratio test as a diagnostic tool for assessing the severity of CAD. Methodology: This was a validation study conducted at the Indus Hospital, Karachi between March 2019 and March 2020. All patients irrespective of gender, aged above 18 years of age, who had chest pain or tightness radiating to the arms or shoulders, had shortness of breath, sweating or dizziness underwent an electrocardiogram (ECG) followed by coronary angiography in a catheterization lab were recruited in the study. Patients with a congenital heart disease or familial hyperlipidemia were excluded from the study. Lipid profiles were assessed by the principal author and were recorded in a predefined pro forma. Results: The mean (SD) age of the subjects was 55.12 +/- 9.93 years. A significant association of increasing TG/HDL ratio was observed with the severity of the illness (p<0.0001). The mean TG/HDL ratio was considerably varied in patients with mild to moderate, moderate to severe, and very severe disease from the control group and in the mean TG/HDL ratio of patients with mild to moderate from very severe disease patients (p<0.05). Conclusion: The current study indicates a strong association of triglyceride to HDL-c ratio with severity of CAD. We recommend that TG/HDL ratio should be determined for CAD patients to assess the severity of CAD in addition to other lipoprotein products.