Abnormalities in serum lipoprotein composition in patients with premature coronary heart disease compared to serum lipid matched controls.

Serum lipoprotein composition was examined in 18 male patients (mean age 44 +/- 0.9 years) who had undergone coronary artery by-pass surgery because of premature coronary heart disease (PCHD) and in 18 control subjects, matched with patients for sex, age, body mass index and serum cholesterol and triglyceride. Cholesterol, triglyceride and apolipoprotein B (apo B) concentrations in very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and in low density lipoprotein (LDL) did not differ in the two groups, but high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was significantly lower in PCHD patients (P less than 0.02). Cholesterol/apo B, triglyceride/apo B and phospholipid/apo B ratios in VLDL were significantly higher in patients than in controls (P less than 0.05, P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.001, respectively). The relative VLDL enrichment in cholesterol was mainly due to the non-esterified moiety (P less than 0.01). These VLDL abnormalities as well as the low HDL-cholesterol suggest an impairment of VLDL catabolism in PCHD patients.