The C‐Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio Is a Novel Marker for Predicting Functionally Significant Coronary Artery Stenosis in Chronic Coronary Syndrome Patients

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies conducted at heart disease centers globally have demonstrated that fractional flow reserve (FFR) serves as a dependable physiological metric for appraising the functional significance of coronary stenosis. The CRP/Albumin ratio (CAR) is a new inflammation-based risk index that offers an accurate assessment of inflammatory status and prognosis for patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). AIMS: This study evaluates the relationship between the functional significance of FFR measurements and CAR in cases of intermediate coronary stenosis (40%-70% as assessed visually) among CCS patients. METHODS: During this period, 253 patients with CCS and single-vessel stenosis featuring moderate coronary lesions were admitted to the hospital. Following the exclusion of patients based on the stated criteria, 172 patients with borderline stenosis in a single vessel were included. After measuring CRP and albumin levels, and patients with intermediate coronary stenosis were divided into two groups: those with FFR > 0.8 and FFR ≤ 0.8. RESULTS: The study's primary outcome indicates that coronary stenosis is functionally significant based on FFR measurements, which demonstrated an independent link to CAR levels. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that the CAR is independent predictor for the development of FFR positivity. The CAR optimal cut-off value of >3.15 predicted FFR ≤ 0.80 with a sensitivity of 53.2% and a specificity of 84.8%. CONCLUSION: This study finds that CAR was higher in patients with FFR ≤ 0.80 and remained an independent predictor after adjustment.