The role of inflammatory markers in the prognosis of cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Can circulating inflammatory biomarkers reliably predict long-term cardiovascular outcomes in patients with established coronary artery disease? This research set out to answer that question by examining the prognostic value of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), fibrinogen, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in a prospective cohort of 652 patients across two German academic medical centers. Participants aged 40 years and older with angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease were enrolled between March 2022 and November 2023. Baseline inflammatory marker concentrations were measured using standardized immunoassay protocols, and patients were followed for 12 months to record major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), cardiac mortality, and rehospitalization. We found that patients in the highest hs-CRP quartile experienced a MACE rate of 23.7% compared to 4.3% in the lowest quartile (p