The association between plasma uric acid level and cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a short-term follow-up study.

: Aim The association of uric acid (UA) level with major cardiovascular risk factors has been well-known. However, whether UA is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) still remains controversial. We aimed to examine the short term effect of plasma UA level on cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients with stable CAD. Methods The study included 147 consecutive patients with CAD. The patients were evaluated in two groups. Group 1: 101(68.7%) patients with UA level higher than 6.5 mg/dL for females and 7 mg/dL for males (n= 38 and 63, respectively); Group 2: 46 (31.3%) patients with UA level lower than those values (n= 15 and 31, respectively). The patients were followed for 15.3 ± 5.5 months. Death, acute coronary syndrome, stroke and other cardiovascular hospitalizations were defined as CVE. The relationship between CVEs and plasma UA level was examined using the Cox-regression analysis. Results The mean age was 63 ± 11 years [94 (63.9%) males, 53 (36.1%) females]. Forty-five (30.6%) had diabetes mellitus and 106 (72.1%) had hypertension. The mean UA level was 6.0 ± 1.5 mg/dL. In the follow-up, 23 (15.6%) had any defined CVEs. Only two patients died. No statistical significance was found in terms of the association between plasma UA level and CVEs (p = 0.61). Conclusion In patients with stable CAD no relation between plasma UA level and CVEs in the short-term was found. However, this subject still needs further studies with longer follow-up period.