Absolute eosinophils count and the extent of coronary artery disease: a single centre cohort study

Leukocytes have been involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, and recent attention has been raised on eosinophils, that have been claimed for a wide number of cardiovascular pathologies, affecting endocardium, myocardium and vascular walls. However, few data have been reported so far on the relationship between absolute eosinophils count (AEC) and the prevalence and extent of coronary artery disease (CAD), that was the aim of present study. Consecutive patients undergoing non-urgent coronary angiography were included. Haematological parameters were measured at admission. Significant CAD was defined as at least 1 vessel stenosis >50 %, while severe CAD as left main and/or trivessel disease, as evaluated by Quantitative Coronary Angiography. Our population is represented by 3,742 patients, divided according to tertiles values of AEC (≤0.1; 0.1–0.2; >0.2 × 10³/µl). Higher eosinophils values were significantly associated to male gender, main established cardiovascular risk factors, previous percutaneous or surgical coronary revascularization, antihypertensive and antiplatelet therapy at admission but inversely with acute presentation. Higher AEC was directly related with platelets count (p < 0.001), haemoglobin levels (p = 0.02), white blood cells count (p = 0.02), higher serum creatinine (p < 0.001), triglycerides (p < 0.001) and glycosylated haemoglobin (p < 0.001), while inversely with HDL cholesterol (p < 0.001). AEC was associated with multivessel disease (p = 0.03), chronic occlusions (p = 0.01), in-stent restenosis (p = 0.002), while inversely with the presence of intracoronary thrombus (p < 0.001). A significant relationship was found between AEC and the prevalence of coronary artery disease (p = 0.049), but not for the extent of more severe LM/trivessel CAD (p = 0.31). At multivariate analysis no independent role of eosinophils was found for CAD (adjusted OR [95 % CI] = 1.02 [0.91–1.15], p = 0.70), or severe CAD (adjusted OR [95 % CI] = 0.99 [0.89–1.1], p = 0.9), even when considering separately acute and elective patients. In conclusion, among patients undergoing coronary angiography, higher eosinophils levels are not independently associated with the prevalence and extent of coronary artery disease, but appear confounded by their link with major cardiovascular risk factors.