Peripheral Eosinophilia and History of Allergy in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease

Background: Coronary artery diseases (CAD) is the most common cause of death in the developing counteries.  Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of CAD. A number of studies have shown that total leukocyte count is a risk factor for CAD but there is little information on the role of eosinophilia and allergy.  The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between eosinophilia and history of allergy with CAD. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 95 cases with known  CAD and 95 age and sex matched controls.  History of allergy was taken by physician.  Blood samples were collected from all subjects early in the morning .  The white blood cells(WBC), neutrophils and eosinophils count and eosinophil/leukocyte ratio were determined by the use of blood coulter and evaluation of the peripheral blood smear. Results: Mean and standard error of means (SEM) of leukocyte count was 8802±253 and 9813±351 cell/mm3 in case and control groups respectively.  This difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The mean and SEM of eosinophil count was 124.8±15.6 and 79.1±11.8 in case and control groups , this difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).  Eosinophil to leukocyte ratio was 1.43 and 0.88 percent in case and control groups respectively.  This diference was also statistically significant (P<0.01).  There was no significant difference between the two groups for history of allergy. Conclusion: There is a positive correlation between peripheral blood eosinophilia and CAD, therefore blood eosinophilia may predict higher rate of CAD.   Keywords :CAD, Eosinophilia , Risk factor , History of allergy