Elevated skin tissue cholesterol levels and myocardial infarction

Background: Skin cholesterol has been associated with coronary artery disease, extent of angiographic disease and inflammatory markers such as hs-CRP. Based on these findings we sought to determine whether skin cholesterol was associated with myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: Patients (N = 649) underwent diagnostic catheterization and concurrent skin cholesterol measurement. History of MI was determined at the time of hospitalization. Results: Patients with a history of MI (n = 225, 35%) had significantly higher skin cholesterol than those without MI (127 29 versus 120 +/- 20, p = 0.002). The odds ratio for high skin cholesterol (for MI) was 1.6 (95% CI = 1.1, 2.6; p = 0.01) after adjustment for traditional risk and extent of angiographic disease. Conclusion: Skin cholesterol may indicate increased risk of coronary-related events rather than simply the presence of angiographic narrowing. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.