ANTI CARDIOLIPIN ANTIBODIES IN PATIENTS WITH ISCHEMIC EVENTS

To determine the presence of anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies in patients with ischemic events, we designed a case-control study. We studied 33 patients with unstable angina, 33 male patients with myocardial infarction and 34 control subjects with no evidence of ischemic heart disease. Plasma samples were assessed for IgG anticardiolipin antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The levels of aCL were (mean±SD of optical density multiplied by 1000): 624±319, 486±318, and 239±202 for patients with unstable angina, myocardial infarction and controls, respectively (F= 15.74 and p=0.0000). High aCL levels were found more often in patients with acute ischemic events.