Alterations in Some Markers of Inflammation and Coagulation in Patients with Heart Failure in South-Eastern Nigeria

Background: Recent studies indicate that inflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Heart Failure, yet there is scarcity of report on blood markers of inflammation and coagulation in patients with heart failure from a Black-African population like Nigeria.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine if there is alteration in blood levels of some inflammation and coagulation markers in patients with heart failure in Nigeria.

Methods: Eighty (80) patients with heart failure participated in this study. They were age-matched with 80 apparently healthy subjects who served as the control subjects. Ten (10) mL of venous blood samples were collected from each participant and dispensed into EDTA, Plain and sodium citrate containers respectively. The samples were used for determination of erythrocyte sedimentation rate) (ESR), C -Reactive Protein (CRP), myoglobin, Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) and Prothrombin Time (PT). IBM SPSS Statistics 21 was used to carry out statistical analysis on the data generated.

Results: There were significant higher levels of APTT (37.33 ± 3.93ng/mL versus 32.05±3.64ng/mL, p=0.000), PT(15.46 ± 7.64 versus 12.17 ± 1.17, p = 0.024), ESR(36.63 ± 34.33 versus 14.66 ± 13.86, p=0.003), Myoglobin(74.72 ± 43.49 versus 35.04 ± 14.07, p=0.000) and CRP (29.24 ± 4.99 versus 16.14 ± 8.64, p=0.000) respectively in all Patients with heart failure compared to controls. There was no significant difference in body mass index (BMI) (28.41 ± 9.88 versus 26.43 ± 1.61, p=0.298) in all patients with heart failure compared to controls. There was a significant positive correlation of CRP with myoglobin (r-0.452, p=0.012) in all patients with heart failure.

Conclusion: Elevated blood levels of inflammation and coagulation markers; CRP, Myoglobin, ESR, APTT and Prothrombin Time, may be associated with heart failure in Nigeria.