Prevelance of Pulmonary Atherosclerosis in Patients With Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension

OpenAlex İngilizce

Background: Our aim of our study was to determine the relationship between vitamin D level and pulmonary artery’s atherosclerosis in patients with chronic pulmonary thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) who underwent pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). Methods: Fifty-six patients with CTEPH who underwent PEA included in our study. Pathologic examination performed to the excised chronic thromboembolic material for the presence of atherosclerosis. We determined patients’ 25-OH vitamin D level in our study. Results: The average 25-OH vitamin D level in the group of the patients with atherosclerosis was lower than the average 25-OH vitamin D level in the patients with no atherosclerosis (9 ± 6.8 and 16 ± 5.9 pg/ml; p=0.005). There were no significant differences between two groups regarding hypercholesterolemia, high sensitive CRP (hsCRP) and the neutrophile-lymphocyte ratio (N/L ratio). Conclusions: We believe that vitamin D can be routinely used in patients with CTEPH vitamin D. Vitamin D replacement may be protective against atherosclerosis in these patients.