[Polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases]

Blood plasma and red cell membrane levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography in patients with Stage I essential hypertension, borderline arterial hypertension, functional classes II-IV unstable angina pectoris, and unstable angina. The findings suggest that insufficient linolenic acid level in blood plasma and red cell membranes and, in the majority of cases, elevated concentrations of linoleic acid are among lipid metabolism disorders in cardiovascular patients. This fact permits a conclusion that measurements of blood plasma and red cell membrane levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids may be an additional diagnostic criterion permitting an assessment of the disease severity and elucidation of the pathogenesis of coronary disease and arterial hypertension.