Serum Salusin-β Levels Are Correlated with Slow Coronary Flow

CONTEXT: Slow coronary flow (SCF) is a special coronary microvascular disorder associated with recurrent chest pain. The pathogenesis of SCF remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: We sought to assess whether serum salusin-β levels are correlated with SCF. METHODS: We enrolled 76 patients with angiographically confirmed SCF and 108 age- and gender-matched controls. We measured serum salusin-β levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and coronary flow rate was assessed using thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count (TFC). RESULTS: Serum salusin-β levels were elevated in SCF patients compared with controls (4.33 [range 3.52-5.87] nmol/L vs. 3.76 [range 2.98-4.67] nmol/L). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that salusin-β in serum was the independent predictor of SCF (odds ratio = 1.814). Serum salusin-β levels were independently correlated with mean-TFC (r = 0.355, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Serum salusin-β levels were independently associated with SCF. Therefore, our findings implicate a potential role of salusin-β in the pathophysiology of SCF and provide insights on both risk stratification and modification in this patient population.